Not Just Friends
by taydo-the-potato
Summary: Seven days together in the same house with no guardians. Plus Jazmine's birthday is coming up. Huey needs to make a move before it's too late. What's going to happen? Rated M for language and for future sexual scenes.
1. All I Want is You, Huey

Chapter One: All I want is You

"Whatcha' reading, Huey?" Jazmine said as she sat on the edge of Huey's bed in the Freeman boys' shared room. Jazmine liked hanging out with Huey, even if they were doing something boring, like watching Huey read. Huey was sixteen and basically the same built that he was when he was ten, adding a few abs on his chest. He was as revolutionary as he was a long time ago, but he was less 'domestic terrorist-y.' Jazmine, on the other hand, looked very little like her former self. When she hit puberty, she started to look less cute, and more beautiful. Every boy she ever passed seemed to be in awe, even Huey, though he wouldn't admit it to himself.

"A revolutionary book, want to read a chapter?" Huey said, not even looking up from his book. Jazmine sighed and rolled on her back, her long, strawberry blonde hair, straight today, hanging over the edge of the bed. Huey looked up for a split second and saw the top of her pink bra in her baby blue V-neck long sleeved shirt. He quickly looked back down at his book and condemned himself for looking at his friend like that. It was the Thanksgiving break, and that meant Jazmine's sixteenth birthday was coming up next Friday. Huey planned on giving her the "Happy Birthday, don't die anytime soon" line, but her sixteenth birthday was special, and so was Jazmine. For his own birthday, she had given him a black scarf and hug, although he cared more about the hug.

"No thank you. Besides why don't you read happier books, like normal people?" Jazmine asked. Huey didn't like when Jazmine questioned what he read or watched. She did it so often that sometimes he didn't even notice it.

"What is normal anyway, Jazmine?"

"Just fuck me, Huey." Huey looked up quickly from his book, astonished by what she just said. "Wh-What did you say, Jazmine?" Huey stumbled.

"I said… 'Just forget it, Huey.' Maybe someone needs clean their ears out," Jazmine giggled. She giggled so hard she fell off the bed. Huey swiftly jumped to the edge of the bed. "I'm okay, just a little clumsy." Huey helped her up and she stood up. "I'm hungry, can we go eat?" Huey nodded and jumped off the bed and next to Jazmine.

"You really should be more careful. You could get seriously hurt one day." Huey warned her. Jazmine shook her head "I know." she replied.

* * *

><p>Riley was sitting in the living room, playing Call of Duty on PlayStation 3, while his girlfriend, Cindy, was on her Facebook. This was a daily thing for them, do nothing during the day, and at night wreak havoc on Woodcrest. Between that, they would do normal dates, like the movies or the mall, but mostly they like to wreak havoc.<p>

"Ah, fuck you niggas! This fuckin' game cheats like a bitch!" Riley slammed down his controller. Cindy shook her head. "Maybe you fuckin' suck at Black-Ops, nigga." Cindy laughed. "Gimme tha controller, bitch." Riley did what he was told and watched in awe as Cindy blasted every enemy in her way with one bullet. She had a higher score than Riley ever had on this game.

Riley obviously thought she was cheating. There was no way a girl beat him in video games. Besides Cristal. "Are you on tha easy level?" She wasn't. "Didja put sum fuckin' cheats in?" She didn't. "Man, fuck this game!" he said finally. Cindy just laughed again and got back on her computer.

* * *

><p>Huey and Jazmine came downstairs and went to the kitchen. Huey opened the refrigerator door and started to scour the fridge for food for both of them. Huey started to list the healthy foods, because he knew that's what Jazmine would like. "Okay, we've got carrots, apples, yogurt, apple juice, oranges, popcorn, and… lots of other things." Huey started to look deeper in the fridge. "I want you." Huey knew his ears were deceiving him again. "What can you repeat that?"<p>

Jazmine rolled her eyes. "I said I want juice. What's wrong with you today?" she asked. Her jade eyes sparkled in the fluorescent lighting. Huey turned away. "Uh… nothing. It's nothing." Huey replied. Jazmine looked at Huey's back and saw something was wrong with him. She didn't want to say it, but when he was hurting, she did too. She also didn't want to admit that she was in love with Huey, but that's just another problem. "H-Huey?" Jazmine said in a timid voice. "Yes, Jazmine." Huey replied. "Can we go to the Tree?" Huey nodded and gathered up the juice she wanted and the carrots he wanted. "Okay, let's go."

As they headed up to the hill with the huge Oak Tree on it, Jazmine wanted to feel… adventurous. "Watch me do some flips, Huey!" She ran up ahead and did cartwheels and somersaults. She landed on the big pile of leaves that were raked up earlier that day. She giggled, which was more or less a trademark of hers. Huey finally made it up the tree. And sat down next to where Jazmine was laying. He rested his head on the bark while he chewed on a carrot. "May I have one?" Jazmine asked. She was always known for her manners, even when she was around friends. "Sure." Huey said back. She grabbed one out the bag and nibbled on it like a rabbit. Huey thought it was the cutest thing. "So…" Jazmine said to break the silence. "What are you getting me for my birthday?" Huey thought about getting her a bracelet, but that wasn't special.

"I don't know yet. What do you want?" Jazmine stood up and thought. "Let's see… I want a pony, a car, a, diamond necklace, tickets to go see Lady Gaga, a laptop and you… tube. YouTube signatures." She was reluctant to say that all she wanted for her birthday was him. She brushed it off and started playing in the leaves again.

"Haha that seems like a lot for me to give you. I can't give you all of that." Huey smirked. Jazmine was too busy in the leaves to notice anything Huey was saying. Huey was still eating his carrots, and Jazmine… was being Jazmine. The silence was broken by Jazmine's screaming. "Aah!" she screamed, jumped into Huey's lap. Huey reacted by putting his arms out and pulling her close to him. "What was it, Jazmine?" Huey demanded, being protective to Jazmine, as he did all the time. She was so surprised that Huey got her that she totally forgot how to speak. "Bug. There bug." She breathed out. Huey rolled his eyes. "Use your people words." He sighed. She stopped staring at him and floated black to earth. "There… there was a bug in there. Sorry, I freaked out." She tried lifting herself up, but Huey held a tighter grip. "Huey…"

"Are you okay, Jazmine?" He asked her. He looked at her this time, his brown eyes with her jade ones. "Uh-huh." She squeaked. He let go of her and he got up. "C'mon, it's time for you to be heading home, anyway." Huey said, brushing himself off. Jazmine nodded, and started walking toward her house. As they reached the front of her house. Huey turned around to head to his own house. "Wait, Huey?" Huey turned around to see Jazmine looking straight at him. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek. "I really had fun doing nothing with you today!" she grinned. Huey laughed, too and turned around. He was on a high, that even Riley couldn't take him off of it.

* * *

><p>Riley was walking Cindy home before it got too dark. Riley, even though he wasn't for that "gay nigga shit," he held her hand the entire time. He liked that he spent his break with her because she was as hood as he was. But he was tired of their meaningless dates and "just hanging out." He wanted to take the relationship to the next level. And by that, he means he wanted to get it in.<p>

"Uh, C-Murph?" Riley started. Cindy turned her around and looked at Riley with her hand on her hip. "Whatchu' want, Riley? We ain't got all day." he looked at her and grabbed her. He leaned in for a kiss. "Nevermind. I like this." he smiled. She broke his grip on her and started walking ahead of him. "You are actin' real weird, Riley." She remarked. Riley just smiled.

* * *

><p>Huey walked into the house and immediately headed upstairs but he was called for by his granddad in his room. "Boy, get yo' ass in her, right now!" Huey sighed and went into the room, feeling this confrontation wasn't going to be a good one. He opened the door to see his grandfather in the bed with a computer in his lap. "Yes, Granddad?" Huey said.<p>

"Didn't I ask you to take out the damn garbage?" Granddad spitted out. Huey shook his head. "Oh. That may have been Riley. Where is that boy anyway?" Huey shrugged his arms. "Probably taking Cindy home. Is that all you called me for, Granddad?" Huey just wanted to shower and get in the bed.

"Boy if you don't shut the hell up and let me talk? Backsassing me," Granddad retorted. Huey sat down on the floor. "Now me and the Dubois are going on a little cruise. It's a weeklong, and we leave Sunday. Now I'm giving you $200 dollars for food and that crap. Remember, you are in charge." Granddad explained. He gave Huey the money. "Hide it from your dumbass brother, though. He can't keep money for shit. "

Huey thought about it for a second. "Wait. Where's Jazmine going to be staying?" Huey asked. Granddad looked at him like he was stupid. "Well, that cutie-pie will be staying here, of course. The Dubois trust you enough that nothing will happen to her." Huey nodded his head and left. He put the money in his sock drawer, where Riley would never go. He went to the bathroom, and turned on the faucet. He undressed and step into the warm water. Why did they have to leave? He didn't trust himself around her in a day, let alone have her stay here for a week. He did _not _like where this was heading. He thought about her, getting dress and undressing, showering and… he looked down to see that he was getting hard. "Shit." He quickly turned the shower to the coldest setting.

Jazmine finished taking her bath and put on a tank top and a pair of pajamas pants. She went downstairs to get a bowl of ice cream. Her parents were also downstairs talking to each other. They saw that their daughter and hushed up. "Is something wrong?" Jazmine asked as she pulled out the carton of chocolate ice cream from the freezer. Her dad sat down and her mother stood behind him. "Jazmine, honey… your mother and I are going on a trip… a cruise. And it's a week long." Her father explained. Jazmine pulled out the bowl and scooped out two scoops. "But... that means you'll miss my birthday…" Jazmine said meekly.

"Yes, well… you'll be spending it with the Freeman boys. And also Thanksgiving together." Her mom explained. Jazmine did like the idea of being with Huey for a week, but this break was about family and being with them. But she didn't want to disappoint her parents. She bit her tongue and nodded her head.

"Great then!" It's settled. We're leaving on Sunday, so you should get packing tonight!" Her dad said. Jazmine didn't understand how her parents could be so happy about leaving their kid for their own selfish needs.

_Huey sat on his bed, reading a Revolutionary book, just as he was earlier today. Jazmine was sitting on the edge of the bed, in her baby blue V-neck and skinny jeans, watching Huey read. She looked around, and then stole the book right out of his hands. "Jazmine!" Huey yelled. "Give me back my book," he demanded. Jazmine shook her head and got off the bed. Huey followed her, putting her into a corner. Jazmine smiled. "Nuh-uh, Huey! You're not getting the book. She held the book up high in her right hand over her head, though not out of Huey's reach. He grabbed her arm, playing her at her own little game. "Now, what Jazmine?" He smirked. She gave him a kiss on the lips and giggled. In shock, he dropped his hand, and leaned in for another kiss. Jazmine put her arms around Huey and the book fell to the floor. He propped Jazmine up on the wall and kissed her more "Huey…" her mouth moaned, feeling his member, rock hard, grinding into her pelvis. She took off his shirt, and he took off hers. He saw the pink bra from earlier, and proceeded to take it off. "Jazmine, I love… I lo-"_

Huey woke up in a cold sweat and a wet bed. He sighed, knowing that this week will be the hardest of his life. He took the sheets off, and went downstairs to place them in the washroom. He went back upstairs. He grabbed another pair of boxers and basketball shorts and headed to the bathroom. He turned the faucet to the coldest setting… again, and took another shower. He didn't want to think about his best friend, but he couldn't help himself.

_ An older Jazmine woke up in the middle of the night to loud crying. She got out the bed, and went to the crib, which held her daughter, Olivia. She picked her up and soothed the wailing baby, rocking her slowly. "Ssh… it's okay. Mommy's here." The baby quieted down. Huey woke up to see his wife up, tired. "Here, give her to me." He said groggily. "You've been up long enough." He took the baby and gave Jazmine a kiss on the forehead. Jazmine crawled back into the bed and waited on her husband. Huey got back into the bed and cuddled up next to Jazmine. She put her head on his chest, and closed her eyes. "I love you, Huey," she said quietly. "I love you, too," he repeated._

Jazmine, the young one, opened her eyes slowly to see she was in her own room, in her own bed. She grabbed her pillow and held it close to chest. "I love you, Huey," she cried quietly.


	2. I'm Here for You, Jazmine

Chapter Two: I'm here for you, Jazmine

On the twilight of a Sunday night, Jazmine grabbed her suitcase and travel backpack to go a couple of houses down to the Freeman's. This was not a trip she wanted to take. Huey Freeman, of course, was going to be there. She was in love with him, and she didn't know how she would act around him. She claimed that she was old enough to stay by herself, but her parents weren't hearing any of it. No daughter of Tom was going to stay at home, by herself to be anally raped. This argument was over; she was staying with Huey and Riley and that was final. She walked away from her parents and sat on the front porch, waiting for them to finish putting the luggage in the back. Tom motioned for her to get in the car. She huffed. She first put her suitcase in, then her backpack, and then climbed in the seat. She crossed her arms. She blew her hair, today curly, out of her face. As her father backed out of the driveway, Jazmine told herself that this was going to be the longest week if her almost-sixteen years of living.

The Freeman boys were cleaning up the house, per Granddad's request… and Huey's. If Jazmine was going to be spending the night, he at least wanted the house to be clean. And if that meant he had to clean up Riley's side of their joint bedroom, then so be it. Everything had to be perfect… for her. Riley was downstairs cleaning the kitchen, and he was doing a pretty half-ass job of it. He didn't really care. His girlfriend already saw the worst of his house and he wanted it to stay the same, just in case her hopes got up too high. When Huey was finished with the upstairs, he went to check on Riley to see if he was done. He didn't find that, but he did find his lazy brother lying on the couch, looking at his phone.

"Riley, get the hell up. You need to clean up!" he said to Riley. Riley looked up from his phone, stared at his brother, and started to laugh. "Really, nigga? You expect to clean up, fo' yo' girl? Ah, hell naw. You can clean up, but not this nigga." he said, eyes stuck on his phone. Huey grabbed the broom and held it up to Riley's neck. Riley put his hands on it, trying to pull it off of him.

"I said… clean this shit up! I'm not going to repeat it again." Huey said with his eyes clothes. He pulled the broom down and Riley quickly got up. He took the broom out of Huey's hand and began to sweep. Huey went back upstairs to shower and get on a fresh pair of clothes. As he was sitting on the bed, he heard Riley scream "Yo' girlfriend is here!"

Huey soon after heard the doorbell ring and he rushed downstairs to greet his visitor that was staying for a week. He opened the door to find Tom grinning widely, the last person he wanted to see.

"Hello, Huey! Where's your grandfather?" Tom asked in his preppy voice. Huey moved out of the middle of the doorway to let Tom and Sarah in. He glanced outside to see if Jazmine was following behind them. When she wasn't, he walked out to the car to help her, if she needed it. She climbed out the car carrying two bags.

"I'll help you, Jazmine," he stated, grasping on her backpack. "I mean, if you want it." She handed the bag to him and he carried it over to the house. "Thanks," she called to him. She trailed him from the car and Huey placed her backpack near the stairs. When Jazmine put her suitcase next to the bag, Huey looked in those beautiful jade eyes that he lived so much. She was lost in his too, but the tender moment was ruined by Tom's annoying voice.

"Jazmine!" he bellowed out from the top of the staircase. "We're leaving right now, so be a good little girl for Huey! He's in charge." Jazmine nodded and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Granddad followed the Dubois' with two bags in his hands. The look on his face was one of disappointment. Huey knew that Granddad didn't want to go on this trip with Jazmine's parents; he kind of owed them after he left to Mexico without Tom. So this was their "do it big" trip… except Sarah was coming along.

"Don't kill the Dubois', Granddad," Huey told him as they left the house. He had a joking face on at first, then it turned very serious. Huey and Jazmine steeped out of the house and watched as all the bags were put in the back of the car and as her parents and his grandfather drove off out of sight. When they could no longer see the car, they walked back inside and Huey locked the door.

"Are dey gone?" Riley yelled from his room. He came out the room with clean clothes and cologne on. "Listen, imma be gone fo' a while. It's okay wit you, rite?" he asked his brother. After all, Huey _was _in charge this week. Huey sighed then nodded. He didn't really want riley here anyway. He just would make fun of Huey and Jazmine and he didn't want that on the first day that she was here.

She walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. Her eyes got droopy and she was falling asleep on the couch. "So… what do you want to do, Jazmine?" Huey asked when he followed her to the living room. She was already out on the couch; talking to her was futile. "Jazmine?" he questioned. There was no answer. He walked up to her. She was sleeping peacefully in a fetal position. He picked her up and carried her into the guest bedroom. He laid her down and put the covers over her. It was only 9:45, so Huey went back downstairs to watch TV, even though he wasn't really paying attention. He was thinking about Jazmine upstairs. He decided to call it a night and go to sleep.

Jazmine woke up in a dark room with moonlight the only thing brightening the room. She looked at her phone that was by her. It was almost one o'clock. _How did I even get here? _She thought. _I didn't even shower yet. _She got out of the bed and walked to the bathroom. She turned on the faucet, unclothed herself and stepped in the warm shower. She finished washing herself and stepped out. She noticed that she forgot her pajamas in her bag. Downstairs. She decided to make a run for stairs, grab her bag, and run to the room. Jazmine figured that everyone was sleep anyways, as long as she doesn't make too much sound. She unlocked the door and dashed to the stairs. She quietly, but quickly went downstairs to find her bag. She fumbled in the dark to find her bag. _Where is it? _She heard the front door open. It was Riley, and he was coming home from… wherever he was. He saw her in her towel, shocked as she was. She screamed and Riley covered his ears. Huey immediately woke up and went downstairs and turned on the lights.

"What's the hell is—?" He saw Riley coming home late at night and saw Jazmine, wearing nothing but a small towel covering her. He blushed then looked away. "Uh… I think you should go upstairs, Riley." Riley just laughed. "Ha, so you finally see yo' girl naked. I see why you want me gon'." He laughed going up to the room. Jazmine stood there twirling her hair.

"I came downstairs to get my clothes…" Jazmine said timidly. She grabbed her bag and put it over her shoulder. "You don't have to explain anything to me." Huey said, still not looking at Jazmine. "I know you were correct." He went back to his room. Jazmine went upstairs to get dressed.

Huey arrived in his room and went to lie down on his bed. Riley was changing into his signature t-shirt and sweatpants. "So I saw yo' girl naked befo' yo' ass did. Now that shit funny." Riley said, lying on his own bed.

"Shut up, Riley. And what are you doing coming home so late anyway?" Huey questioned his brother. Riley shrugged his arms. "That ain't my problem. I'm home, ain't I? What you need to be worrin' about is Jazmine. I mean, if I can look at her, what other nigga can?" Riley said laughing. Huey walked over to him. "Say one more thing about her, Riley. Say one more thing." Huey eyes got angry.

Riley loved to push Huey's buttons. "Jazmine is _so fine_, I could just—" Huey jumped on Riley. They started fighting. "Take it BACK!" Huey yelled. "Gay-ass NIGGA!" Riley retorted back. Jazmine came inside to stop the fight. She pulled Huey away from him not swinging anymore. "Stop!" she yelled to both to them. Huey grabbed Jazmine and they left to go to her temporary room.

"What the hell was that?" Jazmine said to Huey. He was shocked that she said a curse word. He had never heard it come out her mouth. "Jazmine… I didn't…" Huey started. He looked down. Jazmine came next to him. She gave him a hug. He looked at her and even though it was fairly dark in the room, he knew that he was staring straight into her eyes. He broke the contact and got out the bed. "Goodnight, Jazmine." Huey said before leaving the room. "Night." She replied.

The next morning Huey woke up early to fix everyone breakfast. He fixed pancakes, eggs and bacon. When he was finishing up, Jazmine was walking into the kitchen. She sat on the couch, where CNN was playing. She picked up the remote and turned it to MTV.

"Hey! I was watching that," Huey said from the kitchen. Jazmine giggled. "Oh well, Huey." She said sleepily. She walked back to kitchen. "Whatcha cooking, Huey?" She sat down at the table. He fixed her a plate and served it to her. "This," he said simply putting the plate down.

"And if I didn't want this?" she questioned jokingly.

"Oh well, Jazmine." He said in the same tone. Huey went upstairs after he put the food in the fridge. He knew Riley wasn't going to be up for another hour at least. She ate her food anyway and even washed the dishes when she was finished. She didn't want to feel like a burden while she stayed at the house. She went again to sit on the couch, but she didn't really care about what was TV, she wanted to mess with Huey. As she went up the stairs, Riley went down.

"Hey…" he said with a creepy tune. Jazmine rolled her eyes. "Listen, imma go and bring Cindy ova here. That's fine?" he asked Jazmine. "Yeah, sure. It's fine with me." Jazmine really didn't mind Cindy's company, even though they were really different people. Jazmine went to Huey's room. He was, as usual, on his bed reading his usual book. She jumped on him.

"SURPRISE!" she yelled. Huey was so caught off-guard that he dropped his book under the bed. "Oh I'll get it!" she put her hands on the floor and started to crawl under the bed. Huey held on to her feet. She grabbed the book and climbed herself back up. "Thanks." He replied. She sat on the end of the bed as she usually did, and watched Huey read, as usual. Huey felt that Jazmine was bored of their usual routine. He should make her feel comfortable. After all, she was his guest.

"Do you want to play a board game?" Huey finally asked. Jazmine perked up and nodded her head. He went to his closet and picked up Monopoly. He sat it on the bed and set it up for her. They played two games with Huey winning one and Jazmine one. After that, they went downstairs to watch TV. They watched an old movie, then an indie flick. Huey made popcorn and they ate the whole thing together. They acted like a real couple. Except for the fact that they weren't _actually _together.

Riley walked in at 5 pm with Cindy in tow. "Ay Huey, can C-Murph spend da night tonight?" He asked sitting on the couch next to Huey and Jazmine. They scooted over to make room. "What? No! Her mom will kill me if I let her stay here," Huey explained. Having her over here with Riley was a disaster waiting to happen.

"Nah, it's cool. My momma went on a date wit my daddy. So they ain't gon' be back till, like, 5 am." Cindy replied. Huey sighed. "I guess…" Cindy smiled and Riley brought her close to him. "I guess I can go change now." Jazmine went upstairs to switch into her daytime clothes, a Hollister shirt and skinny jeans. She came downstairs and sat back next to Huey.

"Dang man. Y'all ain't got no drinks around here?" Cindy asked while raiding all the cabinets in the kitchen. "What are you talking about? There are plenty of drinks in the refrigerator," Huey said from the couch. "I meant alcohol, Huey." Cindy turned around to look at him.

That was not sitting well with Huey. "What? No! We _cannot _drink my Granddad's alcohol! I will absolutely get in trouble!" Huey stood up. "Calm down, man. It's gon' be aight. Imma replace when I com' back. See? Bacardi, I definitely got this shit at home." She placed the bottle on the table. "Gather round bitches, I got a game we can play." Everyone eased their way to the kitchen to see four shot glasses already filled.

"Is it a board game?" Jazmine asked. Cindy grabbed her cheeks. "I love how innocent you are, but no it ain't. This 'I Never.' If I say 'I never been to New York," then everyone who did take a shot. Simple?" Riley nodded, Huey just grabbed a glass and Jazmine shook her head. "I'm not sure about this…" she started. "Nah, it's okay girl. You can start." Cindy reassured her.

"Okay… I never have been to… Chicago?" Jazmine said, unsure of herself. Huey and Riley both took shots since they were from Chicago. "Oh, I'm sorry Huey!" Jazmine told him. He stifled a cough and waved it off.

"Okay my turn," started Riley. "I ain't never… liked a girl an didn't tell her." he looked straight at Huey. Huey returned the same intensity and took his respected shot. Jazmine blushed. "I've never had sex," Huey retorted. Riley and Cindy looked at each other and took their shots. Huey's eyes widened, not knowing that was going to work. Everyone had at least one drink in their system, except for Jazmine.

"Okay, I never had a pony." Cindy said to make Jazmine take her first shot of the night. Jazmine closed her eyes and downed the drink. She coughed for a while, so much that Huey patted her on the back. "Now it's a party." Cindy said.

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes later, with the bottle almost empty, all four kids were at least buzzed. Just some more than others. Huey was the least drunk with only four shots in him. Cindy and Riley were equal with six, and Jazmine was flat out drunk with nine in her body. That was because Riley and Cindy intentionally said "I Nevers" that only Jazmine could drink to. "I never had a black dad and a white mom", "I never was in love with Usher", and "I never owned a lemonade stand" were a few of them. All the kids went upstairs. Huey was carrying Jazmine over his shoulder who was blathering on about zoo animals. Huey went to the guest room where he was stopped by Riley.<p>

"Naw I got this room tonight." He stated.

"What? No. This is Jazz's room." Huey was drunk and tired. He wanted to put her in the bed and sleep. Riley closed the door and Huey can hear the locks turning. _Fuck. _He thought. His next option was to put her in Granddad's room. He walked over to the room and put her on the bed.

"Huey? Don't leave me. I don't want you to leave," Jazmine said, quietly. Huey sat down on the bed next to her. "Okay, Jazmine." He said. She got closer and snuggled up to him. Huey hugged her closer and Jazmine snuck a kiss. Huey pinched himself on the leg to make sure he wasn't asleep. Jazmine looked at him in the eyes and pounced him. Huey sobered up real quick. "Jazmine, what you doing?" he asked. He didn't know what was happening but it wasn't good.

"I love… you, Huey… and I want… to… show you." She said drunkenly. She went lower and lower until she was _real _close to his belt buckle on his jeans. She fumbled around with it until she actually loosened it. Huey really stopped her then. He didn't want her first time to be a drunken mistake. He pushed her off of him and got up. He turned on the lamp on the nightstand. Jazmine looked at him with her glossy jade eyes.

"I thought you loved me…" she said, about to cry. "I do, Jazmine," Huey said, not realizing that he just confessed his love for her. "It's just that—" Jazmine cried loudly. She stopped, then threw up. "Fuck!" Huey yelled, backing up. Jazmine cried more and laid down. Her crying stopped and Huey went to get one of his shirts since hers were in the occupied guest room. He came back, took all the sheets off and brought his own comforter. He undressed her and left her panties and bra on, which he blushed at. He put his own shirt on her and placed her on her side in case she threw up again. He laid down next to her and put the cover over both of them.

"I love you, Huey." Jazmine said. Huey kissed her on the head. "I love you too." He repeated. He still didn't realize it.


	3. Mine Forever

_**A/N: **__So sorry for putting this chapter out so late! I had lots of things to do, and I always update in order, so yeah! Anyway, no more excuses, here's "Not Just Friends!"_

Chapter Three: Mine Forever

Jazmine woke up with the worst headache of her life. She rubbed her forehead trying to make it better, but it didn't work. She grabbed her phone that was lying next to her to check the time. The brightness burned her eyes and it made her headache feel worse than before. She instead checked the alarm clock next to the bed. The time said 11:11. Since Jazmine was very big on wishes, she made the usual wish of a pony, getting the courage to tell Huey that she loved him (which she already did,) and that her headache would go away as soon as possible. She turned around to see another body in the bed. She hoped it was either her imagination or it was still a dream. Unfortunately it was neither, it was Huey. She shook the body. It groaned, then turned over. There was no light in the room, but she could their eyes were open.

"What Jazmine?" he said. She immediately knew it was Huey and laid back down. "Uhh… my head hurts." she finally whispered. Huey rolled his eyes. "It's called a hangover, Jazmine. That happens when you drink too much. It's okay, all you need is aspirin." Huey got out the bed, and walked to the bathroom. The light felt horrible and Jazmine dove under the comforter.

"But I don't remember drinking that much…" Jazmine trailed off. She didn't remember much from last night after her first shot. Everything was black before this morning. Huey left the light on and walked to Jazmine. He slowly took the blanket off her. He handed her aspirin and a bottle of water from the nightstand. He watched her as she took the pills and finished the rest of the bottle.

"What?" she finally asked.

"Nothing." he turned away.

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." he got up and left the room. Huey was trying to piece together the events from last night. He remembered taking Jazmine upstairs, then blank, then her throwing up, then she woke him up. What happened between that, he couldn't tell you. He walked over to his room and grabbed his phone. He went back to the room to check on Jazmine and saw the door closed and heard the water running. To avoid embarrassment of seeing her naked for a second time, he turned around and went downstairs.

When Jazmine was sure her headache was gone, she got up to start her day. She went to the bathroom and closed the door. She turned on the sink and grabbed the toothpaste. She noticed that her toothbrush wasn't there or any of her products in there. She was in a different bathroom.

"Darn it," she said. She looked up to see her light brown hair disheveled and everywhere. And she noticed something else. She was wearing a shirt that wasn't hers. It was Huey's. "Where did this come from?" she thought out loud. She hugged it close to her body. _He must have put it on last night. But that means he saw me with no clothes. _She blushed a little and when no one was looking (which because the door was closed that no one was,) she softly smelled the shirt. She could smell the detergent they used, the specific smell their house has, and the smell of…_Huey_. It smelled like a shirt that he meditated in or slept in… or something. Jazmine saw how creepy this was and loosened her grip on her shirt. She unlocked the door, and went downstairs.

Huey was sitting down in the kitchen, drinking orange juice (the one bought from him and his brother) and reading the newspaper when Jazmine came downstairs and tried to get food. She grabbed leftover breakfast from yesterday and went to the microwave to heat it up. Huey watched her as she waited for food, dancing in her own little Jazmine way, not paying attention to anyone. He also noticed how still had on his shirt, the one he gave her last night. _She didn't take a shower_ he thought. Not that he cared anyway… or not that he'll say it aloud.

"Are you okay now?" Huey asked after taking a sip of orange juice. Jazmine got her food and sat down next to him. She nodded. She awkwardly at her pancake while there was silence downstairs. She interrupted it after she swallowed her bite.

"What happened last night, Huey?" she finally asked him. She still didn't remember anything and she wanted to know exactly why Huey was acting so very strange. _Did I do something wrong? Did I throw up? _She wanted to know, now.

"Nothing happened, Jazmine. Why do you think any otherwise?" Huey responded. In truth, he didn't know much, but enough that if he told her, she would start to cry. He kept the reality to himself for now.

"I don't really know why but I have this feeling…" Jazmine stopped. She tried to rephrase her sentence. "I mean, it's just the way…" Jazmine trailed off. She knew what she wanted to say, just not how to say it. Huey lifted his eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, something he perfected a long time ago. "Never mind, Huey." She went back to eating her breakfast.

* * *

><p>Riley woke up at the ripe time of 11:30am, not in his bedroom, but the guest room where Jazmine was supposed to be in. Next to him was a naked Cindy who was still sleeping peacefully. He stretched and rubbed his eyes, and thought about last night. It had to be the best night of his young life. He thought about for a minute and came up with the conclusion that drunken sex was better than sober sex.<p>

Riley first took a shower then brushed his teeth to get ready for the day. He went back into the room to nicely wake up his girlfriend.

"Yo, wake yo sleepy ass up."

Or maybe not. Cindy squirmed in the bed, then finally sitting up. Riley smiled as he watched her wake up and confessed in his mind how much he loved her. He went to his room to get dressed in his traditional white wifebeater and khaki shorts. As he left the room and started to head downstairs, Cindy was walking to the bathroom. Riley turned around and smacked her on the ass. She jumped and made an uncharacteristic giggle. Riley laughed and continued downstairs, straight to the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and the orange juice that Granddad banned him from so many times he grabbed him a cup and watched Jazmine and Huey as he poured himself a tall glass of the forbidden drink.

"Hey, y'all look different," Riley inquired. He looked at the to-be couple up and down, expecting every little detail. Huey seemed like his regular gay self, but Jazmine, the girl who looked almost perfect all the time, looked like… well, like shit. Her hair was disheveled, there was still makeup on her face, and her shirt was falling off of her small body. Riley looked closer and noticed that the shirt looked all too familiar. It was in fact his father's shirt, a gray Chicago Bears sweatshirt, circa the 1980s. Huey inherited the shirt after their parents' death, and it has been in his possession ever since. Riley noticed how much tension was in the air and summed it up in one sentence.

"Y'all fucked last night!" the younger brother exclaimed. The statement shook Huey and Jazmine to the core, making them jump in their seats a little. Huey choked on his orange juice and coughed to clear his throat.

"What the hell are you talking about, Riley?" Huey inquired, standing straight up. He knew that even if he wasn't in the right state of mind, he wouldn't do anything with Jazmine except sleep in the same bed, but that's it. Jazmine's cheeks turned to a color similar to a tomato. She timidly sat in the seat, rocking back and forth, and crossing and uncrossing her legs.

"Nigga you ain't gotta lie! Tell me tho, is she quiet? Or is she like… freaky?" Riley started to laugh.

"Riley!" Jazmine squealed. She didn't like this conversation, and she wanted it to end. Huey punched his brother's arm at the sound of her. Riley held his limb in pain.

"Ow, nigga! The fuck was that for?" Huey looked at Riley with evil eyes. Riley winced. "Shit, I just wanna know!"

"We did not have sex last night!" Huey explained, through gritted teeth. Riley looked at Huey with a surprised expression.

"Fo' real?"

"Yes, Riley," Jazmine added. She actually still didn't know, but Huey wouldn't lie about that, so she was in the clear for now.

"Why y'all actin' like that den?" Riley retorted. She didn't want anything to do with this conversation, so she went to the couch, next to Cindy, while the brothers continued to argue. Cindy was watching something on BET, something Jazmine wasn't interested in. She sat in silence as the show continued. She didn't know what to do, since she knew more about her friend then she ever told her before. Cindy stared blankly at the TV, showing no real emotion.

"What's on yo mind, Jaz?" Cindy finally said after the show she was watching to commercial. Jazmine shook her head no, but Cindy knew better than that. She knew when Jazmine wanted to say something; she knew Jazmine for too long. "C'mon girl you can tell me anything. I'm yo best friend!" she pleaded. Jazmine turned to her best friend.

"Okay well, when did you know you loved Riley?" she asked with a nervous voice. Cindy looked at her for a moment, then burst into a fit of laughter. Jazmine didn't know what was going on. She just wanted her answer so she could figure out some things.

"Are you serious rite now?" she questioned Jazmine. She never expected that from her. She knew that Jazmine was in love with Huey, but she would never question it. Jazmine replied with a yes and sat waiting. Cindy laughed some more. "Girl, I don't love him! It's gonna take a baby to tie me down with him! The boy is a dumbass." Jazmine turned to the boys, still yelling. It would get real physical, at least worse, real soon.

"But how come you guys… you know…"

"Fuck?" the way Cindy described the situation made Jazmine shiver a little. "I do it because I can. We just having fun. That's all it is: fun. Imma teenager and all I do is stupid shit like drink and fuck and get high because there is _no consequences_. As Drake said 'I don't really give a fuck, and my excuse is that I'm young. Besides, I bet Riley feels the same way." Jazmine knew for a fact that Riley did _not _feel the same way. Every time Cindy wasn't at the Freeman's house, all Riley would talk about is Cindy, about how cool she was and how she wasn't like other hoes. He was crazy about her and it was sad to know that he didn't know that Cindy didn't feel the same way.

"Let's go upstairs, Jazmine," Huey seized her arm and led her to his room. She tried to keep up with his pace.

"That ain't helping yo case, nigga!" Riley yelled before Huey slammed the door. He was mad and Jazmine could tell. She went to sit on Riley's bed, then thought about it and moved to Huey's. Huey paced back and forth while mumbling something to himself. The only words Jazmine could understand were her name and "katana."

"You know if you keep pacing back and forth like that, you're going to burn a path in your floor," Jazmine giggled, trying to light the mood. Huey glared at her and she put her head down, shunning herself for saying a stupid comment.

"Riley was talking about us… doing… things we are not supposed to!" Huey yelled. His brother was an idiot and usually Huey didn't pay much mind to him when he made those kinds of comments to him, but when she was actually here… it was worse. Huey calmed himself down. "He thinks I took advantage of you since you were intoxicated, but that didn't happen." Huey bent down next to Jazmine.

"So what _did_ happen last night?" Jazmine asked again. Huey rolled his eyes and went to his computer and logged on.

"Why do you keep asking that question, Jazmine?" Huey sighed. He went on the internet and straight to the CNN website, just in case any world disasters happened during the night. So far, nothing major arose.

"Well, since you're so adamant about what didn't happened last night, you're bound to know what did happen!" Jazmine said with force. She was tired of the run-around with people. Why couldn't tell her straight to her face. "Did I say something like "I love you" or anything embarrassing that you want to keep from me?"

And that's when it all came back to him.

_I love… you, Huey… and I want… to… show you. _He remembered everything now. He also remembered that Jazmine tried to give him a blow job. He remembered her fumbling with the belt buckle and her throwing up. He shook his head at the thought of last night.

"What?" Jazmine asked after watching Huey's recent revelation. "What did I do last night?" she was scared of his answer.

He looked at her in her eyes. "Well, to put it simply… you tried to give me… oral." Huey said in the easiest way possible. He waited for her to run out the room or to start crying or something to that effect, and was surprised when she did the opposite.

"Why did I stop?" Jazmine wondered. Huey stared at her. Was she really asking this question? Was this even the same Jazmine from a couple of days ago, who was innocent? Obviously it wasn't.

"Jazmine _I _stopped you!" Huey yelled.

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why?'?" Huey blinked his eye. Jazmine definitely went crazy or her hormones were acting up or something! This wasn't the Jazmine he knew. "Did you want to keep going? You wouldn't remember it anyway!"

"I'll remember it now…" Jazmine trailed off. She didn't know why exactly, but the urge to break her father's wish to "be good" was coming over her. She was in love with Huey and it's about time she acted like it. Plus the thought of pleasuring him like that excited her. "I do like you… and I do want to show you. Drunken people show their true feelings, right?"

"Jazmine, I like you too, it's just that… I don't think we're ready for that kind of stuff…" Huey's voice got lower. He realized that Jazmine was a little freak, as Riley stated before. She took off his shirt, in front of Huey and looked at him. He blushed really hard and gulped. This was going to happen. Jazmine guided him over here with her finger, which he followed.

"Are you really sure about this?" Huey asked one final time. Jazmine nodded as she inched closer to Huey. "No doubts?"

"None at all. I want this," she reassured him. Jazmine put her hair in a ponytail as Huey looked her up and down. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen and he knew that in a few minutes she will be his; he will be hers. It was something they both wanted for a long time, though both were too scared to act on their impulses. They lips finally met in the middle of the bed, still zeroing in on each other. Jazmine opened her mouth to let his tongue in, which he happily obliged fully. His hands were on the bed until his ventured to Jazmine's hips. She giggled in his mouth at the touch of his soft hands. She wrapped her arms around his neck as things got more intense.

Huey started to slide his legs out to the end of the bed to get more comfortable. Jazmine retaliated by mounting on top of him. They broke the never-ending lip lock and gazed at each other, trying to fathom the recent events. They were breathing hard, ready to go to the next thing. That hadn't said much else, but they knew what was on the other's mind.

After she caught her breath, Jazmine lifted Huey's shirt off of him. She went down and kissed each individual peck that he had. He smirked, which made her giggle again. She looked up. He nodded and she proceeded to go further to his belt.

She fumbled with the belt, this time faster than her other failed attempt, and stripped his pants off. She took a deep breath and carefully pulled off his boxers and tossed them to the side. His member popped out, finally free from the cotton jail. She closed her eyes as she and Huey were about to go and never turn back.

She'd hear stories from the bathroom and in the cafeteria about how to give head, and decided to try those techniques. She first licked from the bottom of the shaft to the top. Huey moaned, which gave her the thumbs up that she was doing it right. She cupped her lips over her teeth to make sure she doesn't bite him, another technique she picked up. She put her mouth over the tip and went down slowly. Huey let out another moan, a little louder than before, and closed his eyes. He couldn't believe that the girl of his dreams, the sweet little Jazmine Dubois from down the street, was actually going down on him. She bobbed up and down fast for a few seconds, and then would slow down, finally speeding up again. It drove Huey crazy and he could feel his near approaching.

"Jazmine," he panted, he was in so much ecstasy he could barely make sentences. She looked up at him, while still sucking. "I'm gonna… cum… I'm gonna…" he breathed out. Jazmine kept going, bobbing faster to make his finish come faster.

He couldn't hold it in for any longer. As he let it go, he yelled her name as quietly as possible, as not to show his brother that they did do something. Jazmine swallowed every little ounce of Huey's sticky seed, which was sweet to her, because of all the he ate on a regular basis. She licked her lips and got up. She went to the bathroom, and washed her mouth out with Listerine. She felt pure adrenaline running through her veins. She liked that she did something not exactly perfect, but she was with the one she loved.

She walked back into the room to see Huey still on the bed, head on the backboard, still completely naked, with his hand on his fast-rising chest. Being a nice girlfriend, or whatever Huey considered her at this moment, she redressed him in his boxers and pants. She slipped back on his shirt and climbed back into bed and back to her rightful position on him. She laid her head on his chest and listened to his heartbeat stop pacing. He wrapped his arms around her small body and pulled her in closer to him as they shared another intimate moment.

"You know you broke your dad's promise, right?" Huey finally said after his heartbeat went back to normal and everything had settled down.

"I know," Jazmine replied quickly. She already knew what he was talking about. She had come to terms that her teenaged hormones took over her at that exact moment that made her innocence go away. She would never be "good" again.

"Because good girls definitely _do not _do what you did back there."

"Jazmine lifted her body up and look straight into Huey's maroon eyes and wrinkled her nose. "I'm not daddy's girl anymore. I'm your Huey's girl now." She gave him a long kiss on the lips.


	4. The Fall of a Power Couple

_**A/N:**__ Hello everyone! This chapter is going to focus more on Riley and Cindy, so it's kind of a break from the cuteness of Jazmine and Huey, but they will still be in the story don't fret! Anyways you should enjoy it!_

Chapter Four: The Fall of a Power Couple

* * *

><p>"Open da do', Cindy!"<p>

She wondered how she got herself in this situation. The morning had started off very well.

"No!"

It was nice day outside. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping, and it looked really beautiful. It was the exact opposite of her predicament. She felt more hot tears fall from her face.

"Cindy!"

As usual, she was the source of this week's argument. But this was different. She fucked up. Majorly this time. She hated that he was so mad, hated that he was angry at her. Most of all, she was mad that he was so hurt. All because of her actions.

"Cindy, I ain't gonna hurt yo' ass! I jus' wanna talk to you!" Their disputes never were "just talking." It started with simple yelling, then went to screaming matches, next was the regretful phrases by one of them, then them exchanging more regretful words, finally ending with hot, passionate make-up sex. But this would follow that formula. It was bigger than that. Cindy broke the golden rule in being a relationship.

"I'm _so _sorry." She muttered as more tears fell. Her face was red as blood and her eyes were getting puffier every tear she cried.

"Fuck it, I'm gonna break down da do' on tha count of three!" Cindy was going to have to face him head-on, whether or not she was ready. He was coming soon.

"One,"

"Riley, don't do this…" she pleaded loudly. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling right now.

"Two!"

"_Riley!_" she screeched. She never heard her voice go that high in her life. She was actually in fear right now.

"THREE!"

* * *

><p>The day was so far was a normal one, with Cindy waking up last after everyone else. She got ready and went downstairs and as usual, Riley was arguing with Huey. Every time she's ever over the Freeman household, they're <em>always <em>arguing. It was nothing new to her; it was just the same old thing. One thing that did surprise her was her talk was Jazmine. Jazmine was undoubtedly in love Huey and everyone knew that. She gave her what she had to say before she was dragged upstairs by Huey, never heard from until later. She still sat on the couch when Riley came over to play Madden 11 now.

"Hey, nigga I was watchin' that!" Cindy said playfully as Riley grabbed the remote her hand. Riley scoffed at her, which made her to jump on Riley. "Gimme tha remote, Reezy!" she said jokingly.

"Gimme got his neck broke, messing with tha kinfolk!" Riley retorted, reciting the old saying he heard so many times from Aunt Cookie. They fully wrestling now, forgetting the true reason of the attack. He stopped, which made her stop, and looked into each other eyes. Cindy did the uncharacteristic giggle again, which made Riley laugh more. "I love you, Cindy." Calling her by her government name. Cindy stopped her tracks and quickly got off. "What? Did I do sumthin' wrong?" he asked.

"Nothin'… it's just…" Cindy opened her mouth. She closed it quickly. She didn't want to say the wrong thing and enter one of their infamous screaming competitions. Riley glared her one of Huey's glares. She shifted uncomfortably.

"It's… _what_?" Riley asked.

"I… can't say it." Cindy put her head down.

"And why not? C'mon C-Murph. You kno' you love me, I kno' I love you… why can't you said dat?" Riley explained. Cindy was scurrying away from Riley on the couch. "C-Murph… say it." Cindy shook her head no. She couldn't say after what she did. "Fuck! Why can't yo ass say it?" Riley yelled at her.

"I jus' can't mayne! But why you sweatin' me tho! If I don't wanna say it, then shit I ain't gon' say it! Goddamn hop off my nuts, nigga!" Cindy said getting extremely defensive. Riley was shocked on how she just acted. She blew up on him before, but this was about saying three simple words, three simple words that he thought she believed in. He wanted to hear it back, that's all he wanted and _she _didn't say it back. This was weird that he said it first.

"The fuck are you hiding, bitch? You act—"

"I ain't no bitch! And I ain't hidin' shit!" Cindy nervously lied to Riley. She wanted to this argument to end; she wanted to never bring up this topic again. She needed a distraction.

_Rack city bitch, Rack Rack city bitch.  
>Rack city bitch, Rack Rack city bitch.<br>Rack city bitch, Rack Rack city bitch.  
>Ten ten ten twenties and them fifties bitch.<em>

Just then, Riley's phone rang. He stared at Cindy until the third line, then decided to answer it. He turned away from Cindy to talk to the mystery person on the phone.

"Hello? Who dis be? Hey LaKiesha… what's up, girl? Cindy? Yeah her ass is here… Why?" Riley turned back to Cindy who was visibly shaking. When she said she wanted a distraction, she didn't want one that could possibly end her life. This wasn't going to end well.

"LaKiesha is fuckin' hoe!" Cindy tried to win back Riley's attention, but to no avail. He was hanging onto every word that was coming out of the female voice on the other end of the Blackberry.

"Wait, the fuck? Why da hell you want me to tell her all that? What she do?" Riley asked her in confusion. Cindy got up and started moving towards the stairs. Riley was standing up near the couch. His eyes got wide when he heard what the ghetto white girl on the other line told her: "Yo' trampy ass bitch of a girlfriend fucked my man!" He dropped the phone on the carpeted floor. He didn't even notice that his girlfriend had slipped away. He wanted to scream or cry and since the latter was considered gay and very not gangster-like, he chose to scream.

"CINDY!"

Once she heard her name, she quickly forgot about everything and scrambled to the stairs. Riley spotted her and sprinted after her. Cindy ran up the staircase as fast as her skinny legs could take her, before running into the guest bedroom, slamming and locking the door. Riley was about two seconds behind her and proceeded to bang on the door. Cindy jumped onto the bed and hid under the comforter.

"Open da do', Cindy!"

* * *

><p>Huey and Jazmine were still in the room, not caring about anyone but themselves. After all, they just shared an intimate moment with two other people in the house. It didn't matter. They were together. It wasn't until fifteen minutes of peacefulness that they remember they weren't alone.<p>

"Do you think we should check on them?" Jazmine whispered onto Huey's chest. Even though she couldn't exactly see it, but she knew that Huey rolled his eyes at the thought of his brother.

"Riley is fourteen years old and Cindy is fifteen. I'm pretty sure they can handle themselves for an hour. They're usually by themselves doing God knows what when we're not here, anyways." Huey coldly said to her. He really didn't think about Riley's safety, especially not at a time like this.

Jazmine was about to say something else when they both heard the younger Freeman yell Cindy's name. Not in a sexual tone, but in a… harsh and angry tone. They both shot out the bed like rockets. They looked at each other and heard the sound of a door slamming.

"What the hell was that?" Huey questioned. Jazmine shrugged her arms and got up to look out the door. She saw Riley banging on the door, screaming at Cindy in the room.

"It's your brother. I think he's angry." Jazmine said timidly. Huey rolled his eyes as he put on his shirt and slightly moved her out the way. He watched him as he bang the door some more.

"Fuck it, I'm gonna break down da do' on tha count of three!" Riley said after pounding on the door for too long. Huey heard Cindy say something, but she was too muffled to decipher the words.

"Riley, now let's stop and think about this…" Huey said, struggling to be the peacemaker in this situation, trying to calm everyone down before Riley does something rash and making Granddad kick both of their asses. Riley wasn't hearing any of it though.

"One,"  
>"Two!"<br>"THREE!"

Just before Riley kicked the door in, Huey used his tactful martial arts skills to kick Riley out the way of the door and made him roll before stopping just before the stairs. Riley stood up and tried to punch his older brother, but Huey grabbed his fist and held it until Riley had calmed down for a minute.

"The FUCK was that fo', nigga?" Riley yelled at his brother after he did calm down, but only a notch. He was still pissed at Cindy, at the nigga who fucked her, and now at Huey. He didn't want to be calm. He wanted to fuck shit up.

"Me? You were the one who almost broke the damn door!" Huey retorted, pointing at the guest room. "You could have gotten us into _a lot_ of trouble when Granddad got back, and more importantly, you could have hurt Cindy!"

"Fuck her ass! Her ass deserved to get hurt."

"That may be true, but what would we tell her parents on why their daughter was in their hospital today?"

"Tell 'em dat they daughter is a cheatin' ass hoe!" Riley said. Huey could tell that Riley was mad, but he could also tell that he was more hurt than anything. Call it a brother's intuition that he knew that.

Jazmine cautiously exited the brothers' room. They watched her as she inched closer to the guest room door. "Um… I'm going to talk to her. Is that okay?" she asked Riley. Before Riley could give her the answer of "fuck no," Huey put his hand over Riley's mouth to shut him up and gave her a nod. She went to the door. She knocked ever so slightly.

"Cindy? It's me." Jazmine said quietly.

There was silence, then the door opened and in an instant, Jazmine was inside and the door closed and locked again.

The room was freezing cold, with the fan on, and Jazmine wearing nothing but Huey's shirt on. She noticed her bag and grabbed her Pink sweatpants and slipping them on. She jumped in the bed next to Cindy, whose head was buried under sheets and pillows. She wasn't up to doing anything, she didn't even fully understand why she even let Jazmine in. Jazmine thought for a while on how to cheer her best friend up.

"Think about it this way, at least you aren't dead." Jazmine said, taking a shot in the dark with that conclusion. Cindy finally got up and showed her face to Jazmine. She had obviously been crying and she wasn't in the best of moods.

"But I wish I was dead, Jazzy," she said, wiping her eyes and smearing more mascara. "I fucked up big time and I ruined this week and I suck. At life, at love, at being faithful… at everything."

"You don't suck, Cindy. You're really at basketball. Just tell me the story."

* * *

><p><em>Last Thursday, 8:45 pm<em>

_Jazmine and Huey are on the couch watching this week's episode of Vampire Diaries. Well, more like Jazmine tried to watch it and Huey complained about how shows had gotten shittier and shittier. "What the hell is a 'Snooki' anyways?" he asked. Jazmine just rolled her eyes and focused on the Elena, Bonnie and Matt._

_Riley came downstairs dressed in a red Diamond Supply Co. crewneck, baggy jeans and completed his look with the red and white Jordan 13's on his feet. He looked at his phone before plopping into Granddad's favorite chair. He stared at the TV for a minute until he looked at his phone again. _

"_If you're wondering where Cindy is, she isn't coming until at least nine," Jazmine told him, eyes still fixated on Damon and Stefan shirtless._

"_An' why not?" _

_Jazmine rolled her eyes again. "Because Vampire Diaries is on, obviously. She's obsessed with it." Huey rolled his eyes and began to read the paper he couldn't get to this morning._

_Just then, the doorbell rang and Riley perked up to go answer the door. It was none other than Cindy "Fearsome" McPhearson, wearing her gray YMCMB sweatshirt, skinny jeans, and gray Vans on. This was her best outfit._

"_Hey." Riley said, licking his lips at his girlfriend._

"_Hey." She replied, turning in a circle to show what she had on. Riley pulled her in close and looked in her eyes. He leaned in ever so slightly and…_

"_Close the goddamn door down there! Shit, wasting all the damn heat in damn house! You don't pay no bills up in here!" Granddad yelled from upstairs. He didn't know how he knew, but Riley was going to do what he was told and closed the door._

_**At the party:**_

_Riley and Cindy walked to the door of the house party and as Riley lifted his hand to knock on the door, Cindy stopped him._

"_Promise me you won't drink too much."_

"_What?"_

"_Promise," she repeated. "you won't drink too much. Wheneva you around yo' stupid-ass friends drunk, you always fuck shit up. So don't drink too much. Please? Fo' me?"_

"_Yeah sure whateva." Riley promised Cindy. He didn't think it affected her that much, but he guessed that it was better to have a girlfriend than a couple of shots. He decided he wasn't going to drink at all._

_Or so he thought._

_Two hours later, Riley was fucked up and out of it. He only had three shots… or four… maybe it was closer to five… or nine… nevertheless, Riley was stumbling around the house, not know where the hell he was going. He ran into a couple of girls he thought was Cindy, finally found the real Cindy after walking outside and falling onto a lawn chair. _

"_Riley?" Cindy questioned as she was talking to someone that was on the same basketball team as her. She ran to the boy who was slumped over the chair. She shook him a little, making him vomit in the grass. "Fuck," she muttered to herself before putting his arm over his shoulder and walking inside. She dropped him on the couch. _

"_You promised me you wouldn't drink!" she yelled. Riley's eyes fluttered open his glossy maroon eyes looked at her while drunkenly rocking back and forth. _

"_I ain't neva said that befo'" he said before getting up. He was too twisted to notice the tears building up in his girlfriend's eyes, hurt that he was turning into the very thing she hated. He was heading straight for door._

"_Where the hell are you goin'?" Cindy asked him as he left the party._

"_Whereva the fuck I wanna, bitch!" and that was the end of the conversation. Cindy wasn't one for emotion, like Riley or even Huey, but when she had her breaking point, she let it all loose, unlike Riley or Huey. She ran up the stairs and into whoever's bedroom was nearest to her. She sat in the bed and cried, knowing full well that coming here was a mistake. The door opened and Cindy looked up._

"_Hey, what's wrong?" the voice said. It was Damien, who was Lamiesha or Lasandra's boyfriend. He came and sat next to her. Cindy knew Damien almost as long as she knew Riley, but she treated him more like a brother than a boyfriend._

"_Nothing, it's just that Riley's being an asshole. Nothing special." She said wiping her eyes. Damien was rubbing her back, instantly making her feel better._

"_Why you still wit' him, Cind?" he asked. Honestly, she asked this question to herself multiple times. He makes her happy… when he isn't a drunken idiot. They have fun… when he isn't arguing with her. Everything had an opposite when they did something. She couldn't figure it out. Why was she still with Riley?_

"_I don't know, Damien. Maybe if he just—" Damien shut her up with the most electric kiss she had ever felt. It was better than anything she felt with Ri… Ril… whatever the hell his name was. She didn't know and didn't care. The kiss got more intense as Damien started to lift her shirt._

"_Wait Damien I don't think we should do this…" she reluctantly said. She was a little tipsy, but she wasn't stupid enough to make bad decisions._

"_Don't think. I promise I won't make the same mistakes he did." Damien smoothly said. She thought about it. Fuck Riley. He was going to know how it felt to be truly hurt like she was. Besides, this wasn't a bad decision. It was the best decision of her life… at the time._

* * *

><p>Jazmine held onto every word Cindy said. She didn't know what to do or how to react or anything. Jazmine Dubois, the girl who have anything to say about everything, was at a loss of words.<p>

"And I didn't know he loved me." Cindy finished. Her story made sick and she felt horrible telling Jazmine. She wanted to do everything over again. Erase everything and anything that happened at the stupid party. Erase everything that happened today. She started to cry some more. "And I thought that Damien's words were true and I… I felt so used… so broken."

"Well, Riley does… er, did love you and you fucked it up." Huey said from the door frame. Both girls turned towards and wondered how he got in. "I have a master key." He explained after seeing the look on their faces. She mentally reminded herself to watch out for him while sleeping or showering. He went behind Jazmine and leaned on the wall with his eyes closed. As much as Riley was an ignorant nigga, he was still his brother and brothers stick together. Sometimes.

"I think what Huey is trying to say is that you broke his trust and it's going to take a while for you to gain it back." Jazmine glared at Huey, shooting daggers at him saying such an insensitive thing. Huey replied with own glare, his stare more intense. Jazmine turned back around. "But if you really want to, you can go get him at the…" Jazmine waited for Huey's answer to her nonexistent question.

"Basketball court."

"Basketball court, and work it out." Jazmine gave Cindy the most sympathetic look she could possibly give someone. Cindy turned to Huey, who was looking out the window. Well, one out of two isn't bad. She jumped out of bed and ran out the door, trying to catch her man.

Jazmine breathed out a sigh of relief as she got out the bed and grabbed clothes to actually wear today. She needed a shower. Badly. She stood in front of Huey, who stared at her intensely. "What?" she said to him, in a quizzical way.

He turned away and walked out the room. "If you ever cheat on me, Jazmine, I'm killing him slowly and painfully."

"Duly noted, Huey." She replied as she walked to the bathroom.

* * *

><p>It was about 6 pm, and neither Riley nor Cindy had been back since the fight. Huey, on one hand, wasn't worried about either of them. If anything had happened to Riley, the police would have called him or came to the house. Jazmine, on the other hand, was panicking. She doesn't know where they were or what they were doing. What if Riley killed Cindy and dumped her body in a river or a creek somewhere? She paced in the kitchen.<p>

"Calm down, Jazmine. They'll be alright. Trust me." Huey said, still watching the news of today. Jazmine shrugged and sat on the couch. She laid her head on his lap. She turned up to Huey, who was watching the weather report. When he felt her eyes watching him, he looked down. "What?" he inquired. She shook her head and turned back to the TV. Huey raised an eyebrow and looked back at the TV as well.

"Huey?" she said in a playful voice. Huey rolled his eyes and looked back down for a second time.

"What, Jaz—" Jazmine lifted up and gave him a cute peck on the lips. Huey blinked his eyes a few times and Jazmine broke into a fit of laughter.

"Haha, I caught Huey off-guard!" she said in a sing-songy tune. She laughed some more. "Mr. Afro Ninja didn't see that one coming! I should get a prize for that. 'For Making Huey Looking Stupid' to Jazmine Bethany Dubois!" she added before finally dying down. Huey wasn't impressed with her actions; he didn't understand how he didn't see that coming. Well, whenever he was near Jazmine, all his training and instincts didn't work for him. Huey decided to pull a little joke of his own. He raised Jazmine off of his lap and got up from the couch. He walked to the kitchen to get something to drink.

"Aw what Huey? Can't take a little joke? Did I make you cry? Did I make you _sad_?" she replied. She was still giggling when Huey came back. He had a serious look on his. Jazmine sobered up. "Jeez I'm sorry, Huey. I didn't mean to piss you off…" Huey grabbed Jazmine by her waist and put her over his shoulder. She shrieked at the movement, which made Huey smirk.

"AH, Huey! Put me _down_! NOW!" She screamed. She pounded and kicked as hard as she could, but with no luck. Huey just kept walking to the stairs.

"Nope, I'm going to give you your 'prize.'" Huey said, still walking. Jazmine knew where this was heading and stopped resisting. She giggled as she hung from his shoulders. As Huey started to walk up the first step the door unlocked and Riley walked in. Huey swiftly turned around, hitting Jazmine's feet on the banister.

"Ouch," she whined. He gave her a quick sorry and put her down. Jazmine wanted to protest, but turned and saw Riley standing there. He lifted his eyebrow, then turned to close the door. He went to the stairs as Jazmine and Huey parted for him to walk through.

"'Cuse me." He said quietly as he solemnly went to his room. Jazmine started to hop up the stairs when Huey grabbed her arm.

"I still owe you a prize," he said matter-of-factly. She half giggled and nodded, heading up the stairs behind him. They walked to the brother's joint room. The couple stood in the doorway, watching Riley lay down in his bed.

"What y'all niggas want?" Riley asked after getting comfortable in the bed. Jazmine walked to Riley and sat on the bed. She gave him a quick hug and looked at him gloomily. She actually felt sorry for him, he looked sad, even though he didn't really show it. That is, until she hugged him closer to her and all the emotions came out. Riley Freeman, aka Young Reezy, aka the truest and most real nigga in Woodcrest, starting crying in Jazmine's arms.

"What did I eva do wrong? Why did she gon' and do that shit? I was a good nigga to her! I didn't wanna break up!" Riley cried. Huey eyes were wide. He had never seen his brother cry since he was little, unless he was beaten by Granddad. Especially over "a hoe" since "Young Reezy don't love dem hoes." But wasn't a hoe, it was his girlfriend, that he loved very much. The person broke his heart into three million tiny pieces. Jazmine rubbed his back, hoping that he would feel better soon.

* * *

><p><em>RECEIVED 12:23- Cindy McFearsome: How did he take when he came home?<em>

Jazmine was lying down in her temporary bed at the Freeman's was she contemplated the question Cindy sent her. She didn't want to say that Riley was being a "bitch nigga" in his words, and cried, but she also didn't want to make Cindy feel worse by saying he didn't care.

_SENT 12:25- Baby Jazzy: idk. He went to his room and I didn't see him since.  
>RECEIVED 12:26- Cindy McFearsome: oh. I ain't neva want this to happen. I swea.<em>

Jazmine knew her friend felt bad, but she didn't think about the long-term consequences; she never did. She only wanted what was best for her at the time and didn't care about nothing or no one else. She sighed.

_SENT 12:27- Baby Jazzy: I know Cin. I know._

Jazmine heard the doorknob rattle and she flew under her sheets. Usually when that happened, it was her dad making sure she was actually sleep and not on the computer or phone. But when she realized she was not in her own house, she stuck her head from the cover.

"Huey?" she wondered. He walked to the bed and stood over her. she knew it was him because of the afro.

"Scoot over."

She did as she was told and made room for him. He climbed into the bed and looked at her. Jazmine eyes were wide as he was in the bed. "Is this my prize? Because if it is… then I like it." She smiled. Huey rolled his eyes.

"No, your prize will come later, maybe on your birthday. This is just me… in your bed." He blushed. She scooted closer to him when Jazmine received a text message, which Huey looked at. He frowned and dropped the phone off the side of the bed. Jazmine wanted to protest, but this was any better than what Cindy had to say. Jazmine gave Huey a kiss, expected from him this time, as they fell asleep in each other's arms.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__Well you guys, here it is! I had to add my favorite couple in the story somehow! Also I'm sorry to all you Riley and Cindy fans that was angry on what happened, but it needed the DRAMA! But don't fret people, things always work out, for better or worse!_


	5. A Little, Tiny Mistake

_**A/N: **__Okay you guys, I meant to do this at the end of my story so I can thank everyone, but I think every five chapters I should shout out and say thanks to all my peoples!_

_First I have to thank bunnybabe247 and StarKiss666 for the people who leave a review on EVERY ONE of my chapters! I really think of you guys when I write and this story for you guys! –kisses-_

_Also, I have to thank my other reviews: keyks554, Paige1292, NIckville17, that random anon (who are you?), STWW, and ER99. Thanks you guys!_

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: A Little, Tiny Mistake.<p>

Huey woke up at the ripe time of 6:25, the time he woke up every day. His arms were wrapped around a sleeping Jazmine, who was snoring ever so slightly. He thought it was the cutest thing she had ever done. He tried to get up but his arm was pinned by Jazmine's body. He shook her shoulder softly.

"Jazmine, wake up. I have to get up." He whispered. She turned to face him. Her eyes weren't opened; she turned to get more comfortable. Huey rolled his eyes. Jazmine was probably the heaviest sleeper he knew, and he knew Riley. "Jazmine," He said harsher and a little louder.

"No, Huey. I swear I'm old enough now…" Jazmine was talking in her sleep. Huey blushed when he heard his name. She was thinking about him, even in her sleep. He laid back down, now to hear what she was saying to him. "I'm as old as you… I want you to give it to me. Now." Huey was confused. What exactly was he giving her that she wasn't old enough before? He turned back to Jazmine. She moaned lustfully and smiled. That's when he realized this wasn't a normal dream. It was a sex dream.

"Jazmine wake up." He said shaking her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open and she saw Huey, looking straight at her, with an awkward look in his face. Did he hear what she was talking about in her dream? Of course not. She dreamt it, not said it.

"Whaaat Huey? It's too early for this." She whined. She lifted herself and rubbed her eyes. Huey grabbed his arm from under Jazmine and massaged it. It was numb. He got up and headed towards the door. "Where are you going?" she asked in that sweet sleepy voice. Huey winced.

"I'm going to meditate and go run," he said simply, trying not to make her sad.

"Okay. Just don't take too long. I get lonely," she giggled. She laid back down as Huey closed the door on her. He went down the stairs and unlocked the door to start his daily morning routine.

* * *

><p>Riley had been sitting in his bed since 9 a.m. the previous night, though sleeping wasn't the action that was happening there. It had mostly been thinking, wondering, crying. He turned to his right side to grab his phone off the charger. 7:32. Fucking great. He was in the bed for ten and a half hours and only slept for about two of those hours. He sighed; it wasn't going to be a good day. He glanced back at his phone's screensaver. It was a picture of him and Cindy, on the week before school started, at her pool party. Well, really it was only them plus Huey and Jazmine. And after those two left, it was just them and they took that perfect picture, shared a perfect kiss, and perfectly lost their virginities together. He basically gave everything he could to her, and she threw it back in his face. He was on the verge of tears again.<p>

"_Fuck,_" he thought groggily. 7:30 was as good as any time for him to get up and stop feeling sorry for himself. He had to pee anyways. As he left his room, he saw his older brother leave the bathroom, dressed in not workout clothes, but the clothes he went to sleep in.

"You ain't doin' yo meditatin' shit?" Riley asked. When he said it, it was so low that Huey almost didn't hear him. Huey turned to him.

"I did, I just didn't want to wake you up getting clothes from my room," Huey explained to him. He turned around to go back into Jazmine's room. Riley started to laugh. Huey turned around to face his brother. "What?"

"You goin' back to go fuck yo' girl?" Riley snickered. Huey was about to say something smart back, but it was beside the point. It was just surprising that Riley had made a joke about him and Jazmine and he was glad that he was back to his old self; after all he's been through. He shook his head.

"Hey Riley?" his brother turned to him. "You know… if you ever want to just talk… I'm here." Riley simply nodded.

"Huey."

"Yeah?"

"You still a bitch," Riley chuckled before going back into his room. Huey rolled his eyes and went back into Jazmine's room. She had already went back to sleep and was snoring again. She was a very heavy sleeper. He sighed and got in the bed and went to sleep.

* * *

><p>Jazmine woke up around noon, and she was alone. She went for her phone, which was magically next and saw she had one new message.<p>

_RECEIVED 12:05- Cindy McFearsome: Can u come over today?_

She didn't really want to, but she thought that if she was acting like Riley did last night, then she _needed _to be there. She put on her favorite pair of jean shorts and a tank-top on this unusually warm autumn day. She wrestled with her hair, today straight, and headed downstairs.

"And where are you going?" Huey inquired. Both he and his brother were playing Madden and as usual, Huey was beating him. He didn't even stop to pause the game when he saw Jazmine.

Jazmine turned around to face him. "I'm going to Cindy's house to—"

"Why?" The brothers said at the same time. They both gave her a look to intimidate her.

"She asked me if I can…"

"Don't go over that bitch's house!" Riley shouted at her. Jazmine jumped back a little at his comment. "That bitch don't need no company. Her ass is fine being at home, alone. Shit, if she really wanted someone there, why don't she call _Damien_?" He stood up and went to the kitchen. Huey nodded in agreement, for once.

"I think she has something to tell me," she said quietly. "Can you just take me, please? If not, I'll walk." Jazmine knew that that comment would get him. She knew he never, ever, _ever _wanted her to walk alone farther than his house, in daylight or at night. He lowered his eyes. He went to go get the car keys.

"C'mon. Let's go."

* * *

><p>Jazmine sat in the passenger seat quietly as Huey drove her to Cindy's house. "You need to talk to him, Huey," she said, at last.<p>

Huey slowed down at a red light. He turned toward her. "No I don't, Jazmine. He's fine by himself. I asked him if he wanted to talk; he said no. I can't force him to talk to me."

"But he's just as stubborn as you are!"

Huey raised his eyebrows as he got onto the freeway. "When am I ever stubborn?"

"What about that time you refused to get your tonsils removed because you thought that the doctors were going to kill while under anesthesia because you were still considered a domestic terrorist?" Jazmine pointed out.

He rolled his eyes and muttered, "I'm retired now."

"Or that time you refused to see the last Harry Potter movies because you said they hyped it up too much and you would leave the theater 'verydisappointed that you wasted 20 bucks on that crap?' Or how about that—"

Huey put up his hands while still gripping the steering wheel. "Okay, okay! I'll try to talk to him. Jeez, woman. Do you keep a log of everything I've ever done _ever_?"

Jazmine giggled. "That's for me to know."

* * *

><p>Jazmine got out of the car and walked in front of the car and waved at Huey. He nodded before backing out of Cindy's driveway. She turned and walked to the door. She took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. Cindy's mother, the former cokehead whore, opened the door. She was in her robe and slippers, even though it was around noon.<p>

"May I help you?" she asked nicely. She squinted her eyes a little, then opened them wide. "Oh I know you! You're one of Cynthia's little friend! Sorry," she explained. "I don't have my contacts in at the moment. Come inside." Jazmine followed the woman inside into the mansion and looked around as Mrs. McPhearson closed the door. "Now, Cynthia is upstairs in her room. Be careful, though, she's been feeling a little under the weather. Been throwing up a lot lately. We think it is that stomach bug that has been going around." Jazmine nodded and headed up the swirling stairs. She opened the door to see Cindy coming out of her bathroom, toothbrush in her mouth. Cindy saw her and ran back to the bathroom. Jazmine raised her eyebrow. Cindy popped out finally after five minutes.

"Hey girl, wassup?" Cindy said, acting like nothing had ever happened. She sat on her huge king sized bed, looking at her phone.

"Hey yourself," Jazmine replied. She grabbed a seat in the chair, which was rolled near Cindy's school desk. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

"Besides throwing up every fucking hour, my body feeling like every limb on me is going to fall in 2.5 seconds and I want to sleep for a hundred years? Peachy," Cindy retorted. She rolled her eyes at Jazmine before falling into her massive pile of pillows, covering her face. "Being sick sucks bad."

"That's not what I meant, Cindy."

Cindy sighed. "I _know _what you mean," she sat up. I guess I can't believe it's really over. I just feel numb, honestly."

Jazmine twiddled her thumbs. She didn't understand why she had called her over if really all she was going to do is avoid the true problem. Then again, Cindy was the queen at evading the big problems in life. "So what happened at the basketball court?"

"That shit was awkward as fuck. Basically we screamed at each other until I had to go home. I mean, people were watching us! It was really uncomfortable and embarrassing," Cindy said, shrugging her shoulders.

"Oh."

I can't believe he's this mad," Cindy said, her eyes tearing up. "He's been mad at me before, but never _this _mad."

"Because you've never cheated on him, Cindy!" Jazmine snapped. She was sick of Cindy's bullshit "Oh I'm hurt, feel sorry for me" excuse. Because she did it, and it happened; she should own up to it and move on.

"Excuse me?"

"You freaking cheated on him. And it wasn't like you just kissed. Oh no, you had to one-up that actually have sex with him! I may have only been in a relationship for about a day now, but even _I _know that's a big no-no in relationships!" Jazmine continued on. She was furious that Cindy was so… ignorant!

"Fuck you, I'm hurt, I'm in pain too! What about me?" Cindy yelled back at Jazmine.

"You're hurt? Do you know what Riley did last night?" she stared at Cindy. She shook her head. "He cried. He freaking _cried_. Do you understand how hard that was to watch? And he cried to me. Me! His brother's best friend! All because of you!"

"I'm sorry! I'm…"

"You're not sorry! And Huey… oh my god, Huey? Yeah, he hates you now," Jazmine stated. Even though he didn't blatantly come out with that, she knew that there was some resentment coming from him. She stood up, making her words bite more as she moved in closer to Cindy.

"I don't feel good…"

He's so angry at you and so am I! He didn't understand how you could do that to his brother. He even objected to me coming here. They both did! And I had to beg and plead on your behalf, but I don't know why I did," Jazmine uttered harsher. "I really thought you could change and learn from your mistakes and try to work things out, but obviously I'm working with a baby right now. Truthfully, I'm just sick at even looking at you."

Those were the words that sent her. Cindy ran as fast as she could, holding her mouth, to her bathroom and unleashed everything that was inside her stomach. Jazmine had broken out of her angry trance and rushed to her friend. She looked to see Cindy over the toilet.

"Cindy?" Jazmine asked concerned. Cindy got up from her spot to flush the contents and to brush her teeth for the fifth time today. And it wasn't even 2 p.m. yet.

"What?" Cindy grabbed her towel to wipe her mouth. "I'm sick. Duh," she explained, breaking the ice in a joking matter.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I would think you were pregnant," Jazmine giggled.

Cindy bit her lip.

Jazmine saw her friend and lowered her eyes. "But I do know better, right Cindy? I mean I do know that my best friend is smarter than that. I would know that she learned in health class to use a condom, right?" she pleaded.

Cindy tried hard to fight back tears.

"Cindy… you didn't."

She started crying again. "It was an accident, I swear! It was Halloween. We were at his house and he ran out of condoms and we decided to go for it anyways. Then after, we just stopped using them all together. That was the earliest time, though. I didn't mean to though!"

Jazmine looked down at her shoes. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know yet," Cindy was looking down too. "I really am sorry, Jaz."

Jazmine scoffed. "I'm not the one you should be saying sorry to." Her phone vibrated next to her. It was a text from Huey.

_RECEIVED 1:56- Hubby: I'm outside.  
>SENT 1:57- Baby Jazzy: Okay, I'm leaving now.<em>

She sent him a quick reply and closed her phone. "Well, I got to go. Huey's waiting for me," Jazmine started to leave.

"Jazmine?" Cindy yelled out from her bed.

Jazmine turned around. "Yeah?"

"Don't tell Huey, or Riley, please?" Cindy pleaded. Jazmine knew she couldn't keep a secret from Huey, but she could at least try for Cindy's sake. She nodded and walked downstairs.

"Bye Mrs. McPhearson! I hope Cindy feels better!" Jazmine said sweetly. Cindy's mother waved as she closed the door.

Jazmine got in the passenger seat of Dorothy and buckled herself in.

"Hey," Huey said as they headed back to the Freeman residence. "How is she?" Jazmine could hear the tenseness in his voice when he talked about Cindy.

"She'll get better, eventually," Jazmine said. "_Unless she messed up and got pregnant. Then she's screwed._" She thought to herself. Huey grunted and made a right. She thought about Cindy and Riley; on how they were going to handle this, on how their families, especially Granddad, were going to handle this, on how she didn't want to end up like her. They passed a drugstore on the right side. Jazmine looked at before turning to Huey.

"Are you still going to give me my 'prize'?" Jazmine asked, putting air quotes around the word "prize." Huey looked at her and smirked.

"Yes, but I was waiting until your birthday. Why?"

"Well if you're giving me what I think you are, then we should stop. Like right now," Jazmine said with confidence.

"Wait, why?" Huey didn't understand her. "I'm pretty sure Riley has some we could use…"

"Something tells me he doesn't," Jazmine mumbled her breath.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just that I would feel better if we didn't depend on Riley. Besides, do you really want ask Riley for something like that? Plus, I don't wanna end up like Ci… sluts on 16 & Pregnant," Jazmine said, catching herself before she revealed Cindy's secret. Huey rolled his eyes before pulling into the Wuncler's Pharmacy by his house. Huey got out and followed Jazmine into the Family Planning section of the store. They both winced, but for different reason. Jazmine because of Cindy; Huey because he didn't want to be in this aisle, at this time, for someone to catch him.

"Don't worry, babe, no one comes here; No one will see you," Jazmine said, as if reading his mind.

"Don't call me 'babe'," Huey said, wincing again at the affectionate name.

"Okay, boo-boo bear," Jazmine giggled. She loved to get under his skin.

"Babe is fine," he growled. He just wanted to get this over with and go home. He walked over to the concealed case of condoms. There were over twenty different boxes in the case: small, regular, large, Magnum, Trojan, Durex, ribbed, bareskin, Fire & Ice, latex, lambskin, polyurethane? "_What the hell is that?_" He thought. He was definitely getting dizzy.

"Um, Jazmine? Maybe we should—"

"Okay," Jazmine started, taking control. "Since you're kind of big, I think you need large." Huey blushed hard. Jazmine blushed as she realized she said that a little too loud. "Sorry," she said quieter.

Huey looked back to the display of protection, surveying each one. "Okay I'm sick of looking at this. Grab the Magnums and let's go."

"Okay I'll go get a person to open the—"

"Fuck that," Huey replied. He grabbed a bobby pin from Jazmine's hair and proceeded to pick the lock. It was one of those simple locks that were easy to break. He unhooked the box and tossed it to Jazmine, who instinctively caught it. He closed the case again.

Jazmine started to walk to the pharmacy counter when Huey stopped her. "I come here too often. The guy knows my granddad," he said, point at the pharmacist behind the counter. "Go to the front." They turned to walk to the front and awkwardly stood in line as they waited for an open cashier. Huey could see Jazmine shaking a little as she looked around for anyone. "Don't worry, babe, no one comes here; No one will see you," he smirked, repeating her words to her. She gave him a sarcastic look.

"Hey Huey! Jazmine! Over here!" They both shot up to see who was calling them over. It was Huey's friend Hiro; the Japanese-American boy who you could have sworn was black, if you only heard his voice and DJing skills. Jazmine tensed up significantly and Huey just stood there. His body must have reacted before his mind, because before he knew it, he was walking to the counter, dragging Jazmine with him.

"Hey Hiro," Huey said quietly.

"Hi," Jazmine squeaked out. She put the box on the counter. Hiro started to laugh. Her demeanor immediately changed from embarrassed to confused. "What?" she asked him.

"Oh it's nothing," he said while laughing. "It's just that me and this dude bet that y'all would hook up this week. I said y'all would; he said Huey would be too scared to make a move. I guess someone owes me 30 bucks!"

"You betted," Huey gritted through his teeth, "on our _relationship_?"

Hiro stopped laughing, knowing full well that if he said the wrong thing, he could get his ass handed to him. "No, no, no! Not like that!" he reassured Huey. "It's just that… we already knew you guys liked each other, but neither one of you was gonna say something…" Hiro turned to cash register and rung up the box of condoms. "It's gonna be $14.06," he said, defeated. Huey handed him a fifteen dollars and grabbed his bag.

"Let's go, Jazmine," he said, leaving.

Jazmine waved at him "Bye, Hiro!" she yelled smiling. She got in the car after Huey. "That was awkward, huh?" she asked him.

"Definitely."

* * *

><p>Jazmine had just gotten out the shower, and dressed up in her favorite graphic t-shirt and favorite sleeping shorts. She went to Huey's room hoping to find him. Instead, she found Riley, getting ready to go somewhere.<p>

"Where are you going?" She asked him as he rushed passed her. He turned back to her.

"None of yo' business," he replied. He kept going down the stairs, but she followed him. "Damn, can you hop off my dick? I'm goin' to party," he finally sighed.

Jazmine was about to say something, but decided to close her mouth. "Fine. Go." Riley raised his eyebrows. She shooed him off. "Go!" she smiled. He needed to get out the house. He smirked and nodded his head before heading out the door. Huey came from the kitchen.

"Where is he going?" he asked her, plopping down on the couch. She sat next to him and shrugged her shoulders. He rolled his eyes and turned the TV to Cheaters. They were at the point where the man was confronting his girlfriend.

"This show is stupid." Huey muttered.

"I yelled at her Huey," Jazmine said quietly. She wasn't even looking at the TV. She stared at the carpet, as if it would magically give her answers.

"What?"

"I blew up. I told her to stop messing around and man up. I yelled at her and she's… sick! I probably made her feel worse," Jazmine finished. She could already feel the tears forming, though she tried to fight them.

"It isn't your fault, Jazmine. Cindy got herself sick and it isn't your job to baby her and care about her feelings all the time. She needed to understand how you felt about what she did. Trust me, she was going to hear it sooner or later and I rather she heard from you than from me," Huey explained. He moved in a little closer to comfort her, wrapping his arms around her tiny waist and resting his head on her shoulder.

"But I still feel responsible!" Jazmine went on. "Cindy, my parents, my burden on everything… you know my parents only went on that stupid trip to save their marriage?" she laughed a little. "Yeah, after the Usher incident and her going to Obama's inauguration, my dad really suspicious. Like, paranoid, anxious suspicious. They argue all the time."

"It still isn't your fault," Huey repeated. He placed a kiss on her cheek, trying to cool her down. She pushed him off and got up.

"But it is!" They argue about me like I'm not even there in my room listening to them! My mom says I'm the reason she stayed is because of me. I wasn't even planned. He was a one-night-stand gone wrong. That's really why I feel like nothing. Because I wasn't even wanted," she awkwardly chuckled before the tears finally flowed out. Huey got up and held her as she cried. Her tears dampened his shirt as she kept going. "Who leaves their kid on their _sixteenth _birthday? My own parents don't ever care me," she yelled into his shirt. He gripped her tighter. "No one cares about me!"

"Hey!" Huey pulled her away from his chest to glare at her. She stopped her crying to look at him. "Don't. Ever. Say that again," he warned her. "Riley cares. Cindy cares," he started.  
>"I care."<p>

"You do?" Jazmine sniffed.

Huey nodded and gave her a soft kiss on her lips. Jazmine stood on the tips of her toes to deepen the kiss, because after there was almost a foot difference in their height. They broke the kiss, only to breathe and for Jazmine to yawn.

"Sleepy?" Huey asked rhetorically. When she nodded, he picked her up bridal style and carried her up the stairs and to the room.

"Hey Huey?" she called after she was in bed. "Thank you. You know for everything you do for me." He nodded and climbed in the bed.


	6. The Exciting End of the Week, Part One

Chapter Six: The Exciting End of the Week, Part One.

Huey woke up a little after 10:30, expecting Jazmine to be snuggled into his body. To his surprise, he was alone. As he got out of the bed and walked to his room, but found no sign of Riley either. "Where the hell is everyone?" he muttered.

"Oh shit! Dis my song!" he heard his brother yell. "Turn that shit UP!" Huey rolled his eyes and went down the stairs. When he reached the last step, the aroma of eggs, bacon, and other foods hit tickled his nose. He walked closer to hear "The Motto" blasting on the surround sound system, with Riley rapping along with the song.

"_Now she want a photo, you already know, though  
>You only live once: that's the motto nigga, YOLO<br>And we bout it every day, every day, every day  
>Like we sittin on the bench, nigga, we don't really play<br>Every day, every day, fuck what anybody say  
>Can't see 'em cause the money in the way, real nigga, what's up?"<em>

He followed the smell, ignoring the loud music, where there was a smorgasbord of breakfast foods on their small kitchen table. Riley immediately sat down after the song was over, sticking his fork in every plate there was.

"Ay yo Huey! Yo' girl cook!" he yelled with a mouthful of pancakes muffling his words. Huey turned to Jazmine, who was still cooking something.

"Thank you, Riley!" she smiled. She turned to Huey and beamed. "Good morning!" she stretched up and gave him a kiss on the cheek as she stirred something in a pot.

"What's all this for?" he asked her, grabbing a strawberry from the carton. She slapped his hand and motioned for him to sit down.

"It's Thanksgiving, silly!" she smiled. "I have a ton of food for us: Turkey, dressing, mac and cheese for Riley, green beans, a salad for you, sweet potato pie, brownies, and rolls!"

"What? Ain't no mashed potatoes?" Riley asked, after getting more grits.

"Why? Do you want some? I think we have some left from breakfast," Jazmine said, scoping out the fridge for potatoes. As she pulled out three, Riley laughed.

"Aw, hell yeah nigga! Mashed potatoes in this bitch!" Riley said as he did a little dance. Jazmine got out the fruit salad she made for him and closed the refrigerator. She handed it to him. He went to the table and started to eat it.

When he was finished, he migrated to the couch. Riley was already asleep in Granddad's recliner. He grabbed the remote from Riley's grip and changed the channel from the Macy Parade to CNN. He knew that there wouldn't be any news not related to Thanksgiving, but he watched it anyways. Jazmine came from the kitchen to sit in his lap.

* * *

><p>"Shouldn't you be watching the food?" Huey asked.<p>

"I finished everything, except the turkey. It's in the oven now," she replied. She gazed at Huey and stared into his maroon eyes. He stared straight back.

"What?" he questioned. She put her finger on his nose. He wrinkled it, which made her giggle. She tried to get in closer, but Riley stopped them.

"Uh-uh, no. Mm-mm. No gay shit in front of me, niggas," Riley said, shaking his head. Huey was about to say something to him, but Jazmine stopped him.

"So Riley," Jazmine said after finding her own spot lying down over Huey's legs with her head resting in his lap. "What did you get me for my birthday?" she interrogated him. "Or is it nothing, like the year before?"

"Actually," he said before getting up. "Me and Huey did get you a lil' somethin', but you gon hafta wait 'till tomorrow." He walked to the kitchen to get a Coke. Jazmine looked at Huey and back at him.

"You really got me something?" Jazmine wondered. "I was just kidding at first, but now…" she scratched her chin. "What is it?" she started to bounce in her seat.

"Nah, see you got to wait. Yo' birthday only tomorrow!" he chuckled.

"But I want to know _now_…" she whined. She looked up to Huey with wide eyes. "Huey, make him give it to me," she ordered in a child's voice.

He rolled his eyes. "Jazmine, you can wait one more day. It won't kill you, I promise," he said, grabbing the newspaper that was on the coffee table and reading it. "Calm down." She pouted her lips.

"Ay Jazmine!" Riley called from the front of the living room. He was carrying a medium-sized birthday bag. "Happy birthday." He stretched out to give her the bag. She jumped off the couch so quickly that she almost hit Huey in the face with her hand. She grabbed the bag and ripped out the paper out of it to reveal the gift: a stuffed pony from Build-A-Bear Workshop. "Press the foot," he instructed her. She did as she was told.

"_Happy Birthday, Jazmine._" The animal said in both Huey and Riley's voice. She stared at the pony for a long time.

"I know it's a little cheesy, and if you ain't into ponies no more, then…"

"I love it," she whispered. She looked up to Riley and gave him a big hug, tears forming in her eyes. "Thank you, Riley!" she yelled in between her tears. He awkwardly returned the hug. The oven bell dinged and Jazmine went to the kitchen. Riley turned to his brother, who watched the whole event. He just shrugged it off and went to the kitchen. Jazmine was placing everything on the table.

"It's…!" she started to yell. When she saw both of them to the food, she quieted down. "Ready." Riley sat down first, already fixing his plate. Jazmine followed him, then Huey. They all had sat down and had a nice family dinner for about 20 minutes, until the phone rang.

"I'll get it!" Jazmine perked up from the table. She went over to the kitchen phone. "Hello?"

"_Hey, Jazmine!_" the voice said.

"Daddy!" she smiled. She jumped onto the counter to sit down. The brothers got up from their seat to crowd around the phone. "How's the Bahamas?" she asked sweetly.

"_Oh it's beautiful!" _he said. "_The landscape here with the trees and the water… it is so… breathtaking._" He sighed. "_Me and Mr. Freeman love it here!_"

"Where's Mom? Can I speak to her?" Jazmine inquired. He heard him tense up over the phone. "Never mind, just tell her I said hi!" she changed the subject. "I think Huey wants to talk to Granddad," she said, examining Huey. He glared at her.

"_Oh well, I need to talk to him,_" Tom said. She shoved the phone to Huey and jumped off the counter. "_Huey! How are you? How's Jazmine?_"

He rolled his eyes. "You were just on the phone with her; why didn't you ask her then?"

"_Well… I was just checking on you guys! Making sure you are out of trouble and not doing things you kids aren't supposed to…_"

Huey raised his eyebrow. "What are you implying, Mr. Dubois? What kind of things do you think we're doing?"

"_Nothing! I'm just making sure you aren't taking… advantage of Jazmine while she's over there… I know how boys are and—_"

"You think we're having sex," Huey said nonchalantly. Jazmine quickly looked at him to hear the rest of the conversation. Riley just started laughing.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jazmine fumed. She was putting food in the fridge and cleaning up the kitchen. She dropped a plate into the soapy water when she heard Huey.

"_NO! That's not what I meant!_" Tom said, hearing Jazmine curse in the background. He uncomfortably laughed. "_I meant that—_"

Huey stopped him. "The only reason why you would ask if I was taking advantage of Jazmine was because you were wondered if I had sex with her yet. There's no other way to explain it. By the way, we haven't." He didn't think that what they did two days ago wasn't any of Tom's business.

"_Oh. Okay, well then I have to go, bye now!_" he quickly got off the phone. Huey hung it up and sat back down, finishing his dinner. Riley was still laughing, because he thought it was too funny that even bitch-ass Tom thought something was going on between those two.

"Mayne, Huey! You still ain't get it in? That's pretty sad, Huey," Riley said, sobering up. The couple stared at him.

"_SHUT UP!_" they both yelled at him. He put up his hands up in the air, defeated. Jazmine glanced over at Huey.

"Can we go to the—"

"The Tree? Yeah," he finished for her sentence. She went upstairs to put on shoes and her lanyard with her keys. They both walked out the house.

* * *

><p>They walked down the street to their favorite hangout place when Jazmine noticed something.<p>

"Huey, you never asked me out," she noted. She thought about it. "Nope, not officially. So I don't technically have a boyfriend," she giggled. "We're just best friends."

"I thought I didn't have to say it, Jazmine," he said, not even looking at her. He remembered he forgot to get his keys and hoped that Riley was going to be home. "I thought you knew."

Jazmine shrugged. "I guess that means I can go find other guys…" she said sing-songy, walking off from Huey. He grabbed her hand and gently pulled her to him.

"Jazmine Bethany Dubois, will you go out with me?"

"A little too proposal-y for me, but it'll do for now," she smiled. Huey sighed and let her go. He almost said something but a raindrop fell on his hand. He looked up to see a barrage of more rain coming down. He didn't remember reading this in the paper. Jazmine tried to match his gaze at the sky only to take cover underneath her hands. They were nowhere near his house and plus he didn't have a key. Knowing Riley, he would make them stand outside longer. "We can go to my house; it's closer," she said, taking note of his expression. He nodded his head and ran across yards to get to her house. Jazmine kept up as hard as she could. Soon, they were in front of the house.

"Wait!" she said, stopping herself from putting the key in the lock. She turned to her boyfriend. "Huey, say something romantic or sentimental."

"Why?"

She batted her eyelashes. "Because."

"Because is not an answer," he scolded her. "Why?"

Jazmine rolled her eyes. "Huey Freeman, why do you always question everything? Why can't you comply with things for once?"

"Because _Jazmine Dubois_," he retorted in the same tone. "I don't ever do things on a whim. Just because you asked me to, doesn't mean—"

She interrupted his thoughts with a romantic kiss in the rain, just like in the movies. The rain around them wasn't cold anymore, but warm and pleasant. Jazmine got her kiss, and even though he was caught off-guard, again, Huey didn't seem to mind it either. When they finally pulled off of each other, Huey looked at her.

"What was that for?"

"I wanted my kiss in the rain, and you were talking too much," she giggled. She opened her door now, and showed off her house. "Welcome to Chez Dubois!" she went up the stairs. Huey closed the door and ran to follow her upstairs. She arrived in her clean room and fell on her bed. She sighed and started to take off her shirt and find another non-wet one. Huey walked in and almost immediately covered his eyes.

"Jeez, you could've knocked," she said playfully. He walked around her room, blind, before running into her bed and falling on it. "Smooth."

"Jazmine, why didn't you warn me?" he yelled from his hands.

"What? Freeman can't control himself around little old me?" she teased as she found a clean shirt to put on.

Huey scoffed. "More like _you_ can't control yourself around _me_."

Jazmine turned around to give Huey a look. "Excuse me? I have control, unlike you. You can't even keep your hands off of me, like when you snuggle up to me at night?" she smirked, wiggling her fingers.

"Oh yeah?" he asked. She nodded her head and laughed. He got up and quickly wiped the smile from her face when he took off his shirt. "You were saying." He smirked this time when her mouth was slightly open. She closed it and went to her radio. She turned it on and fumbled with it until she found the right station. It was playing "One in a Million" by Aaliyah.

_Baby you don't know, what you do to me._  
><em>Between me and you, I feel a chemistry.<em>  
><em>Won't let no one come and take your place.<em>  
><em>Cause the love you give can't be replaced.<em>  
><em>See no one else love me like you do.<em>  
><em>That's why I don't mind to spend my life with you.<em>  
><em>Wanna please you in anyway I can.<em>  
><em>Wanna share my world don't you understand.<em>

_Your love is a one in a million it goes on and on and on_  
><em>you give me a really good feelin all day long.<em>  
><em>Your love is a one in a million it goes on and on and on<em>  
><em>you give me a really good feelin all day long.<em>

She mouthed the lyrics as Huey watched every move she made. She closed in on him and turned around, dancing slowly to the beat of the song on him, dipping down and bringing it up as she swayed her hips. He turned her around and now they were face to face, his hands on her hips, pulling her even closer as he moved to the same beat as her. He pinned her to the wall, moving his hands to her waist. He whispered in her ear. "Jazmine," he said as smooth as he could. He could feel her melt in his arms.

"I think that means I win," he said, straightening up and removing his hands from her waist. She snapped from the spell he put her under and blinked. She pouted her lips.

"Whatever. You know I can't help myself when you do that," she replied. She changed out of her short and into yoga shorts.

"I guess you can't resist that 'Freeman Charm'," he said as he put his shirt on. She pushed him slightly and walked out the door. "What?"

* * *

><p>Jazmine sat on the couch, snuggled with a blanket over her, watching Jersey Shore. She didn't even notice Riley was coming down the stairs. She was too busy into the drama that was unfolding in front of the TV.<p>

"Where Huey at?" Riley asked. She glanced at him before turning back to the TV.

"Shower."

"And you ain't join him?" he joked. "You ain't being a good girlfriend, Jazzy." She faked laughed as he sat down in the recliner. "You actually watch this shit?" he made a face when he saw two girls fighting on the screen.

"You sound like Huey and Cindy."

"That reminds me, what happened at Cindy's?" he pondered. Jazmine's eyes got wide and she scratched her head.

"Nothing. Nothing happened. Why? Why do you ask? What did you hear?" she said rapidly. She closed herself in the blanket a little tighter.

"Jazmine…" he said.

"Yes?"

"What happened? Did y'all say somethin' bout me?" he asked. "Mayne, imma real nigga, I can handle it."

"I can't tell you." She looked down. She bit her lip from telling him the secret.

"Jazmine, tell me right now, or I swear fo' God," he started. She shook her hand. "Jazmine!"

"No. I. Can't. Tell. You." She said sharply.

"Jazmine…" he said calmly.

"No. I really want to tell you but… I can't because of… girl code," she said, finding an excuse to hide behind.

"Fuck girl code! Jazmine, just fucking tell me!" Riley was getting really angry.

"Riley… she's… pregnant." She blurted out. She saw the color drain from his face; she knew that was a mistake. "I'm sorry!" she buried her face in her hands. Huey came down the stairs and saw Riley and Jazmine the way they were.

"What the hell happened?" he asked Riley, since Jazmine wasn't even showing her face to him.

"She pregnant." was all he could mutter out. "I'm da daddy."

Huey glared at him. "Cindy? Cindy's pregnant? With _your _kid?" Riley slowly nodded. "You fucking idiot! How the _fuck _could not have been smart?"

"It just happened Huey, I swear!" Riley protested, trying to calm his brother down.

"Well, now look! You couldn't get through your fucking thick-ass skull that she could've _possibly _gotten pregnant that one time?" Huey yelled. Riley shook his head. "You fucked up majorly this time. Congratulations Riley, you're going to be a dumbass father."

"Huey! Yelling at him isn't going to change the subject that this is happening," Jazmine finally perked up. "Riley, you can deal with this in the morning. We all can. But for now, let's all just go to sleep and calm down." Huey gave her "the look." She returned one back. "You too, mad man," she said, pushing him to the stairs.

Huey did as he was told and walk upstairs. Jazmine followed him up the stairs and in to the room. She closed the door and got in the bed.

"Goodnight," she said from under the comforter.

"So you aren't angry about all this?" he asked her, looking out the window. It had started to rain again. "How could they have been so irresponsible?"

Jazmine poked out from the covers. "Why should I be mad? I can't do anything about it…" she said quietly. "Just go to sleep and deal with it in the morning, like I said before. It's really late," she turned to the clock. "12:35, to be exact. Hey, it's my birthday!"

Huey crawled in the bed and kissed her on the forehead. "Happy Birthday."

* * *

><p>Jazmine was shaken awake by Huey at 7:30 on the dot. She shot up from the bed almost instantaneously and scanned her eyes around. "What? What happened?" she looked over at Huey, who was staring at her.<p>

"It's time to go," he said, getting out the bed.

"Go? Go where?" she said, rubbing her eyes. Huey rolled his eyes, and went to his room. "Cindy's? We're going Cindy's house… at 7:30 in the morning? Are you freaking out of your mind?" Jazmine said from the bed. She groaned loudly when she didn't get an answer. She finally complied and threw herself out of the bed. She went to get clothes to wear today, but Huey stopped her.

"Nope, no time," he said, grabbing her arm and pulling her away from her bags. She whined as she hit the stairs.

"Can I at least have a hoodie?" she said sleepily. Huey rolled his eyes and quickly ran upstairs to get her his Black Power hoodie. Jazmine pulled it over and curled up in it. Riley finally came down the stairs and they went to Dorothy.

* * *

><p>The drive to Cindy's was a quiet, with everyone, except for Huey who was driving, falling asleep. Jazmine closed her eyes and soon she was at her house. She got out the car first and knocked on the door. She was hoping that Mrs. McPhearson wouldn't answer the door. The door unlocked and it was Cindy standing there in her pajamas.<p>

"Wassup, Jazmine?" she smiled, then her face dropped when she saw Huey and Riley standing behind her. "What y'all doin' here for?"

"You know what we're here for," Huey snapped. Cindy laughed uneasily and looked at him. "We have to go."

"Go? Nigga, I ain't goin' nowhere with y'all!" she spat out. She crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. "So if that's all y'all got, then deuces!" she tried to close the door, but Jazmine put her hand up.

"Cindy, just get in the car. I'm tired, I'm cold, and it's my freaking birthday. I didn't plan on being here at 8 am, so with that in mind, shut the hell up, get your ass in the car, and let's go." she fumed. She gave Cindy a tired, but menacing look. Cindy gulped and grabbed her jacket that was hanging next to the door. Huey looked at Jazmine. "You can get in the car too." She said walking to the car and even taking a look at him.

Cindy sat in the back seat next to Riley, who wouldn't even look at her. "I'm sorry," she muttered out. Riley quickly glanced at her, then back to the window. "If you don't wanna talk then that's fine but I just wanna let you know that I'm sorry everything happened between us and I just hope we cool," she rambled on.

"To be honest? No, we ain't cool. Not even close," he said. Cindy was taken aback, but nodded anyway. He looked up to see that they were at a pharmacy. "Ay Huey, we gonna get Cindy a test here?" he shook his head yes and turned off the car. Everyone went into the store and immediately went to the Family Planning aisle. Riley picked up the cheapest one, which was five dollars.

"Nuh-uh. Cheap mean wrong." Cindy snorted. "The Wuncler brand? You might as well pee on cardboard."

"Are _you _paying for it?" he yelled at her.

She rolled her eyes. "If yo' ass can't, then I will!"

"Who _the fuck _are you yellin' at?" Riley yelled again.

"Shut the FUCK up! Both of you!" Huey stepped between them. "If you two dumbasses are finished, grab one of the tests so I can get the fuck out of here." He told both of them. He grabbed the most expensive one. He turned to Cindy. "Do you have to pee?"

"Not really."

"Jazmine, can you go get her something to drink?" he turned to see that she was already gone. She came back with two Razzleberry Peace Teas. Huey grabbed one of them for Cindy.

"Those were both for me…" she said quietly.

"Oh shit, Peace Tea? You know what a nigga like!" Cindy smiled. Riley mumbled something under his breath which made her turn around. "What you say, bitch?" Riley almost said something that he'd regret in the long run, but decided to close his mouth. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

They walked to the counter, where the man rung up the stuff with no questions. When he said the total, the group looked at Riley.

"What?" he asked.

"Pay the man!" Jazmine yelled at him.

"Why I gotta…" Huey and Jazmine glared at him. "Fuck it." He shook his head. He gave him a twenty and got the change, he handed it to Jazmine. "Happy birthday."

"Thanks," she said flatly.

* * *

><p>They went back to the Freeman's house, all exhausted. Jazmine plopped on the couch and closed her eyes. Cindy sat next to her, and almost fell asleep, but Huey woke her up.<p>

"Drink up," he said, tossing the can to her. She caught it and popped the tab. She started sipping the drink lightly. "I think you should go a little faster than that," he said sarcastically. She drunk it faster, and gave the empty can back to him. He switched the can for the test. "You know where the bathroom is."

"You know where the bathroom is," she mimicked him, but got up to go to it anyway. He turned to Jazmine and picked her up. She woke up and looked around, but went back to sleep. He put her in the bed. She woke up again.

"Huey? What time is it?"

"Almost 9, you were only out for 20 minutes." He said looking at the clock.

"Where are Cindy and Riley?"

"They went to her house to tell her mom. She's not going to be too happy," he said. He looked at Jazmine, who he thought looked beautiful in his hoodie. "Hey, I need to give you my present, Jazmine." He went to his room, and came back with a long, small black box. He threw the box on the bed, as if it was nothing, but he knew it wasn't. "Open it if you want," he shrugged, kind of smiling. She opened the box and inside was silver bracelet, with a heart charm that was engraved with her first and middle name on it. She looked up him.

"It's…. I can't…" she tried to say. The words weren't forming in her mouth. She put the bracelet on and gazed at her wrist.

"I take it you like it?" he joked. She nodded. He went for a hug, and got a kiss instead. He looked at her jade eyes and gave her another kiss.

And another. And another. And another.

He laid her down on her back and started to kiss her neck. She looked into his eyes, and bit her lip sensually. "Right now?" She breathed.

"Right now."


	7. The Exciting End of the Week, Part Two

**_A/N: _**_There is a little... _sexiness_ that happens in this chapter, so if you're a little iffy about it (like I am, but it isn't that bad, I don't think,) skip that little break after Riley talks. but __I didn't rate it M for nothing!_

Chapter Seven: The Exciting End of the Week, Part Two.

Riley and Cindy walked down on the street where Cindy lived. After the test came out positive, they might as well go break the news to her mother. Huey decided to stay at home with the knocked-out Jazmine, just because he was so protective of her. The entire walk to her house was very awkward, neither of them saying anything the whole time. Cindy even wondered why he even went with her, seeing that yes, he was still pissed off.

"Reezy," she started.

"What?" he bitterly asked. She jumped back at his response, and shook her head quickly. He rolled his eyes. "Just tell me, C-Murph."

"Why you even come with me if you still mad? I can handle this shit by myself," she finally said. He looked at her. "I know you wanna fuck random hoes, so I ain't even mad. I would hate you too if you did the shit I did."

"You think I wanna fuck random hoes?" he laughed.

"I _know _you wanna fuck random hoes, Reezy." She laughed with him.

"I don't wanna fuck random hoes, C-Murph," he said. "Really, I don't give a fuck about those hoes. I ain't never did. I mean, when I was younger, I wanted hoes, but something changed all that."

"What?" she asked confused.

"You." Riley said. "I guess I had that soft spot for you, you the only girl that I could like… fuck with, you know what I mean? There was Jazmine, but she was always Huey's girl, before they even got feelings for each other. And plus, she was always like an older sister, like I have a sibling love for her. But you? Nah, you were cool. One of the boys. Always has, always will be. I will forever have feelings for you, Cin, but… I don't know."

"If you don't wanna, you don't hafta do this," Cindy said quietly.

Riley gave her the "Huey look". "Whatchu mean Cin?" he raised his eyebrows. "You mean if I wanna be a little bitch and punk out of yo' pregnancy, I could?" Cindy avoided his face. "Cindy, I don't know what you think imma do, but I ain't no punk-ass, bitch-ass, deadbeat daddy. If it's mine, imma take care of it! I ain't like those other niggas out there. Imma take care of what's mine."

"Wow, someone's been takin' life pointers from Huey," Cindy joked.

Riley scoffed. "Ain't nobody listening to that bitch."

"Uh-huh. If he such a bitch, whatchu think they doin' now?" Cindy smirked. Riley thought about for a while, then shook his head.

"Yeah, right. If I know my brother, he probably reading a book or some gay shit like that, not getting it in, like you think."

* * *

><p>Huey kissed her deeper and deeper, and soon trivial things like shirts and pants started to come off. He fumbled with her bra in the back for a minute, until Jazmine pointed at the front, indicating it had a front latch, not in the back as he thought.<p>

"Sorry," he apologized, which made Jazmine giggled. He chuckled awkwardly as he helped her out the bra. He was in awe of her and stared at her a little. Jazmine blushed before getting another deep kiss from Huey. He gently massaged her breasts and played with her hardened nipple with his thumb. He then placed it in his mouth and bit it softly.

"Eep!" she squeaked out. He ignored her and went on with his mission, sucking and licking her tiny bud. He went back to kissing her. She could feel his warm hands travel past her stomach, past her waist, to her inner thigh. He slipped in one finger at first. She retaliated by moaning in his mouth. He focused all his attention on making her moan louder than the first time, and he succeeded. Several times over. He even added another finger, and making her moan even louder.

"Huey," she breathed out. "I think… I'm gonna," she stifled a moan. He pulled out his digits and looked at her. She wasn't breathing hard, and he hadn't really started yet!

He reached over her to the drawer of the nightstand. He grabbed a condom out of the box he put in there the other day. He quickly read the instructions and threw the box back in the drawer. He rolled off of her to put it on. Jazmine played with his ear as he finished putting the protection on. He got back in his position on top of her. He looked into her eyes.

"You ready?" he asked. Jazmine took a deep breath and nodded her head. She gripped onto his back as a brace for what was going to happen. He put his hand over her mouth, which earned a look from Jazmine. Huey entered her swiftly and quick, muffling the loud moan emitting from Jazmine that could have alerted the neighbors. He went in deeper, and the nails in his back did the same thing. He pulled out a little and started to thrust. He took his hand from her mouth and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You okay?" he said, stopping his movements. She nodded, letting a whimper as well.

"Keep going. I like it," she let out. He did as he was told and started moving again. Soon he went faster, knowing his end was coming soon. "Huey… Huey…" was all she could say.

"Jazmine… don't hold it in," he grunted out. "Let it out."

She did as she was told, and when she reached her climax, she screamed his name. Huey finished soon after her, and collapsed next to her. He took off the condom, tied it, and threw it in the wastebasket next to the bed. Jazmine cuddled up to Huey, laying her head on his chest. He closed his eyes for what seemed like a second until he heard his phone ring. He reached over Jazmine, who whined when he moved, to get his phone on the nightstand.

"Hello?" he said, trying not to sound too sleepy.

"_Huey, you awake? I been callin' you for damn near 20 minutes!_" Riley said panicky.

"No, I'm answering this in my sleep," he retorted sarcastically.

"_You need to get over here A-SAP. Some shit just went down,_" Riley said into the phone. Huey heard something break in the background. "_Ay, AY! Calm yo' ass down!_" he yelled at someone. "_Huey, come. Now._"

Huey stood up and rubbed his neck. Jazmine unwillingly got up with him and rubbed her eyes. He got up and started putting on his clothes, and throwing clothes at Jazmine.

"What's wrong?" she said, confusingly putting on her clothes.

Huey shrugged. "I have no idea; he just told me get over there as fast as I could." He put on his shirt and grabbed his keys on the nightstand. "You ready?" he turned to her, but saw that she had fallen back on the pillow. "Jazmine… we have to go."

"Can't I just stay here and sleep?" Jazmine said from her pillow.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

"…fine. I'll get ready." Huey went downstairs and waited on Jazmine. She came down the stairs in his hoodie and her shorts, looking more tired than when she first woke up. She walked towards him. He noticed something was off about her.

"Jazmine, you have a—"

"Yes, I know I'm limping, thanks to you," she snapped as she walked, er, limped outside to the car.

"I didn't hear you say that an hour ago," he joked. He got in the car after her, and saw the evil glare she was giving him. He just shook his head and backed out the driveway.

* * *

><p><em>One Hour Ago<em>

Riley stood behind Cindy as she opened her door. Her mother was in the kitchen, drinking coffee and eating fruit. Riley waved at her as he followed Cindy up to her room. She took off her jacket and her shoes. Riley put his keys and phone on her desk.

"How we gon' tell her?" he asked her. She sat on the bed and scratched her chin.

"I guess we just go down there and tell straight up," she said. He nodded and went back downstairs. She walked into the kitchen. "Mom… we need to talk."

"Yes, honey?" her mother said sweetly.

"I don't know how to tell you this… but…" Cindy looked over to Riley. "I'm pregnant… and Riley's the father."

Her mother stopped sipping her coffee and put it down. She swallowed hard and got up. She went to the sink and started to wash dishes. Both Riley and Cindy exchanged a look.

"Mom?"

"Cynthia, you're little joke isn't funny," she smiled and washed dishes.

"It isn't a joke, Mom…"

"You're telling me… that that little _hoodlum _impregnated you?"

"Hoodlum?" Riley repeated. He tried to go to her, but Cindy stopped him.

"Hoodlum? This _hoodlum _happens to be the father of your grandchild!" she yelled at her mom.

Mrs. McPhearson snorted. "For how long? When you're 4 months pregnant he decides he doesn't want to be a dad anymore, what are you going to do then? What about when he wants to be with his gang friends and gets killed?"

"What the hell are you talking about? Riley isn't even in a gang. I don't know what you're thinking is going to happen, but you can forget it. Riley already said he's going to be there." She put her hand on her hip. "Just because it happened to you, don't mean it'll happen to me,"

Her mom turned to her and slapped her.

"You little _bitch_! Me and your father try to raise you right, and this is what you do? You know I thought you hanging around with them boysall day when you were eight was just a phase. That you would stop fucking around and be girly. But you just _had _to stay with _them_, didn't you?" she scolded her daughter. Cindy held her face. She glared at her mother and said the worst thing she could think of.

"Fuck you, Mom."

Cindy ran up the stairs and started throwing everything in her path, breaking countless vases, glass objects, and pictures. Her mom heard the commotion and ran after her.

"You little whore! Come here!" she screamed to Cindy.

Riley sat in the chair in the kitchen, just listening to what was happening upstairs. He was about to call Huey when he remembered he left his phone upstairs. Where they were fighting. He jumped out the seat and ran upstairs. "You crazy bitches bet not touch my damn phone!" he yelled going inside the room. Her room, once clean, was now in the middle of a war zone. World War III to be exact. Riley searched near the turned-over desk and only found his keys. He dug under the bed the bed to find a math book, a bra, and his phone. "Ay!" he did his celebratory booty dance when he found it untouched by the shit going down. He went out the room and dialed Huey's number. He probably dialed and redialed the number at least 10 times before he picked up.

"_Hello?_" he said, sounding like he woke up from a five hour nap.

"Huey, you awake? I been callin' you for damn near 20 minutes!" Riley said panicky. Shit had just got real, because the McPhearson girls just started throwing things at _each other_.

"_No, I'm answering this in my sleep,_" Huey retorted sarcastically. Riley rolled his eyes. He didn't have time for Huey's bullshit!

"You need to get over here A-SAP. Some shit just went down," he said in the phone. He looked up and ducked right in time to see a picture come flying in his direction. "Ay, AY! Calm yo' ass down!" he yelled at Cindy's mom. "Huey, come. Now." He ended the call before Huey could say something. He saw Mrs. McPhearson throw almost all of Cindy's clothes put the window.

"Fuck this, I'm out!" Cindy yelled before grabbing her suitcase that wasn't thrown out the window. "You fuck up, Mom. This is the last time you'll ever see me and you'll never see your grandkid! Ever!" she went outside in the backyard and started messily packing her items in the large suitcase. When she finished, she grabbed a rock and threw it at her window, and it went through effortless. Her mother looked out the now gaping hole where the window used to be. She flicked her mom off and walked to the front.

Riley, who didn't go outside with her, ran out the door to the front, where he saw Cindy sitting on the front porch. He sat next to her and waited for his brother.

"Ay, you aight?" he asked her. She nodded slowly, gazing at the gloomy sky. "Come here, lemme look at yo' face." She turned her head to the right, and showed the redness that was forming on her right cheek. He touched it slightly, but she winced. "Damn, she got you good." He said. She scoffed and turned back. "Hey, what you mean when you said you ain't gon be like her?"

"Most people outside my family don't know that I ain't the first kid. My moms, when she was 'bout 15, 16, she got knocked up. The daddy was, ironically, black. He said that he would be there for her, but he bailed when she was like, 7 months pregnant, after he found out it was gonna be a boy. She ain't never trust another nigga after that. Then 10 years later she met my daddy and 2 years after that, here I am." She said, rolling her eyes.

"That nigga weak. Where your bro, now?" he asked.

"I don't know. I ain't seen him since I was 6; he moved out at 18. I think he the reason I act the way I do." She sighed. "I wonder what he doin' right now."

"I wonder what _my _brother right now. Where the hell is he?" he groaned. Just as he said that, he was Dorothy pull in the driveway. They both stood up, and got ready to put the bags in the trunk.

"What happened to you two?" Huey asked, getting out of the car.

"Mrs. Charlotte McPhearson happened. She kicked me out." Cindy answered. She held up her suitcase for him to see. "So I have to stay with y'all."

Huey looked at her. "Stay with who? Granddad won't let that happen."

"C'mon Huey! She ain't got nowhere to stay! We… I can deal with Granddad when he come back on Sunday! Huey, c'mon… don't be a bitch." Riley pleaded. Huey rolled his eyes and nodded. Riley smiled and got her bag. "Thank you, Huey!"

"Yeah, thanks Huey I swear I won't be too bad. I just…" Huey could see that Cindy was tearing up.

"It's alright," he said, getting back in the car. "Really."

* * *

><p>When the crew arrived to the house, Jazmine hurriedly went upstairs to get her stuff from the guest room and move it to the Freeman brothers' room. She also took the time to take out the trash and change the sheets, just in case something ended up on the sheets that aren't <em>clean<em>. As soon as she changed the sheets and took the old ones to the laundry room, Cindy met her, putting her own suitcase in the room.

"Jazmine, you ain't gotta cleanup for me," Cindy said. She set her bag near the door and jumped into the clean bed. "Really, I'd be good with just a blanket."

"Oh, it was nothing," Jazmine shrugged. She grabbed the old trash. "I want you to be comfortable!" she smiled. She went downstairs and threw away the trash, then went to sit down next to Huey.

"Did you get everything?" he asked her, knowing full well why she was upstairs. She responded with a nod. "Are you sure?" he made sure.

"I think so…" she answered not as confident.

Just as Huey was about to say something else, Cindy came running downstairs. "One of you two lovebirds wanna explain to me this?" she laughed, holding up the box of opened condoms. Huey turned and glared at Jazmine.

"Sorry," she silently said.

Riley was in awe by what he saw. Not only was Jazmine and Huey fucking, they also had Magnums. He didn't know his brother was like that, no homo. Riley started to laugh. He stood up and clapped for his brother and soon Cindy joined in with him. Jazmine buried her head in Huey's shoulder while Huey put his hand to his face.

"Congratulations you two!" Riley yelled.

"I think 11:30 is a perfect time to sleep," Jazmine said, getting up. "Forever."

"Yeah, I'll follow you," Huey retorted, getting up right behind her.

"AY, y'all should take these!" Riley tossed the box to Huey. Huey answered by slapping Riley in the back of the head when he was on the stairs. Riley fell, but quickly got up and said "That ain't hurt, nigga!"

Jazmine closed the door after Huey walked in. After she locked the door, she burst into a laughing fit. Huey lifted his eyebrows. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," she said dying down. "It's just that… last year when I blew out the candles on my birthday, I wished that we would be together, even if it's just for one day, one hour. This year, I finally have you for more than one day and I have no idea what to wish for now."

"Wish for world peace."

Jazmine pouted. "But it won't come true if you know!" Huey sighed. She was very difficult to deal with sometimes. She looked over to Huey. "What if this is all a dream and I eventually have to wake up to go to your house?" Huey walked over to her and flicked her forehead. "Ow! What was that for?"

"It isn't a dream."

Jazmine rolled her eyes. "Thanks."

* * *

><p>Huey got out of the shower and dressed in the bathroom, getting ready for bed. It was around 12, so everyone in the house was pretty much sleep. He walked to his room to see Riley playing on his phone. He glanced at him for only a second, then he went back to his game. Huey walked over to his side, only to find that Jazmine was already sprawled out on his bed, asleep. He tried nudging her awake, but it's no use. Jazmine sleeps like a rock.<p>

"Looks like you gon' sleep on the floor tonite, my nigga." Riley joked.

"Maybe _you'll _be sleeping on the floor when I take your bed," Huey snapped. Riley's smile faded and went back to his phone. He tried to shake her again, but she didn't wake up. At least, she didn't open her eyes. A smile crept on to her face. She was faking it all along.

"There's only one way to get me to move, Freeman," she said in a sly tone. He sighed, looking over at Riley.

"What, nigga?" he asked.

"I'll give you 10 bucks to leave the room," Huey bargained.

"50."

"15."

"40?"

"10," Huey repeated. Riley wasn't going to win this; he was defeated. He nodded his head and left the room. He came back a few seconds later.

"Are y'all gonna fuck?" he asked, popping his head back in. Huey threw a pillow and he left the room. Huey looked back over at Jazmine, who still had her eyes closed.

"I'm waiting," she said in a sing-songy voice, her eyes open now. Huey climbed onto her, and inched his way to her face. She gave a giggle, and closed her eyes. Huey reached down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips. Jazmine's eyes fluttered open. "I think… I need another one," she said before closing her eyes once more. Huey rolled his eyes and gave her another soft kiss, only to be met with clapping in the background. He looked up and saw Riley and Cindy standing in the door frame.

"Why ain't you ever do sweet shit like that?" Cindy said, still clapping.

"'Cause I ain't gay, that's why," he responded. He got back in his bed.

Jazmine giggled and rolled over. Huey got under the sheets and snuggled into Jazmine's small body.

"Night," he said when he was comfortable.

"Goodnight, Huey."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **__Yeah… I'm not exactly sure about this one right here, but I guess all-in-all the chapter in pretty decent. Meh. Don't worry, little followers! The next chapter is going to better, in my opinion! But if you don't like it, then the next one after that will be better. Remember: I write to please you guys!_


	8. Stuff Hits the Fan

Chapter Eight: Stuff Hits the Fan

It was Sunday, and Jazmine knew what that meant. It meant her parents and Mr. Freeman will be coming home from their trip soon. And that meant she had to go home. Home. Where the arguing and fights happen. She hoped that the cruise helped instead of hurt the marriage of her parents, but she knew better. Her mother was in a loveless relationship, and she knew it, Tom and Jazmine knew it, and even the Freemans knew it. And after the call on Thanksgiving Day, Jazmine was pretty positive now.

Her parents were headed to divorce.

She shook the thought out of her head. It wasn't the fact that she was denying it, because she wasn't. It was the fact that it was coming sooner than she thought. That she would have to face it eventually. She sighed, trying to forget about everything.

"You okay?"

She turned to Huey, whose eyes were fixed on the TV. He was watching CNN, about something that happened in Iraq. She nodded softly and started to let her mind wonder back to her parents. She didn't want them to break up, but she knew it would be better for the whole family. At least, that's what she assumed it was for. For the sake of the family. She heard Huey say something and turned back to him.

"What did you say?" she asked him.

"You should start getting ready. Your parents will be here in an hour," he repeated. She was still in his shirt from last night. Jazmine knew if her dad saw her, he would definitely freak out. She went upstairs at once.

"What time is it?" Cindy asked coming down the stairs. She stretched up, showing her ruby-studded belly button. She put down her hands to see Huey and Riley staring at her. "What?"

"Since when did yo' ass have a belly button ring?" Riley questioned her.

"Nigga, I've been havin' this shit fo' like, damn near two, three weeks! You ain't never noticed it yet?" Cindy yelled at him. Riley thought about it. He never really paid attention to her belly button. Ever. The doorbell rang and Cindy turned around to get it. "You so fucking stupid, bro." she added before opening the door.

"Dad," she whispered.

It was her father, Daniel McPhearson, standing tall at the front door. "Hello, honey." He said. "How are you?"

"Fine."

"You know when I left Friday morning, you were living at home," he chuckled. "And not pregnant." Cindy laughed and nodded her head.

"Some shi- stuff went down when you left, Dad," Cindy explained. "Mom don't ever wanna see me again. I let you down. I let everyone down." She could feel herself tearing up… again. She cried more this week than she ever did in the past year.

"Honey," her father said, closing in to hug her. "You didn't let us down. Stuff happens and we just have to deal with it."

She let go of her dad. "Does this mean I can move back home?" she smiled. She heard her father suck in air. "Mom's still pissed, ain't she?" she answered to his reaction.

"Very. I need to talk to Mr. Freeman. Is he here?" he looked around to check if he was.

"He won't be here for another hour, Mr. McPhearson. He went on a trip," Huey said, going up the stairs.

"Well, how about we go out to lunch, Cindy?" he asked his daughter. She smiled and nodded, going upstairs quickly to get her shoes and came back down. She followed her dad out the house and closed the door.

* * *

><p>Huey walked close to his room, but saw the bathroom door open. He was about to close it when he saw Jazmine sitting on the counter. She looked at him and smiled. "What are you doing?" he inquired, walking into the cramped room.<p>

"My hair," she stated, working on a piece on top of her head. "I'm straightening it. Is that okay with you? Or do you have a problem with it… as usual?" she asked sarcastically. She was already expecting a lecture from him.

"Eh," he simply said, leaning against the wall.

"What? You're not going to say 'straightening your hair is setting African-American women back hundreds of years, blah blah blah'?" she mockingly replied. "This is new for you, Freeman."

Huey shrugged his arms. "You never listen to me anyways, so it's no point in wasting breath on telling you again." Jazmine made a frown and rolled her eyes. He could hear the front door unlocking in the background. "Besides, you look fine to me anyways." He rose off the wall and walked down the hall.

"Really?" Jazmine perked up. He nodded his head and continued to walk.

"Boys? I'm home! Where y'all little niggas at?" he heard Granddad yell. He sighed and showed himself on the stairs. "Huey!" he said, eerily happy.

"Hi Granddad," Huey answered. He was surprised when he received a hug from Granddad. Huey lifted his eyebrow. "Granddad, are you getting high again?" he wondered.

Granddad opened his mouth to say something, but then Tom and Sarah walked in. "Never mind." He said, which earned him another eyebrow lift.

"Huey! How are you?" Tom said in cheery voice. He was followed by Sarah, who was dressed in a hat and large sunglasses. "Jazmine! We're home!"

"Daddy! Mommy!" she screamed at the top of the stairs. She ran downstairs and gave them both a big hug. Her dad returned it normally, while Sarah's hug was more awkward, but only Huey noticed it.

"Where's Riley?" Granddad asked Huey. He shrugged his shoulders and pointed to his room. Just as Granddad was about to storm the room, Riley came downstairs, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, Granddad. You finally home," he said. He went to the living room and sat down. The whole group followed, with Granddad sitting in his recliner and Jazmine sitting next to her parents. Huey sat next to Riley and studied the Dubois carefully. "So, how was the cruise?" Riley spoke up, breaking the silence.

"Well, I can't speak for Tom since he didn't want to go farther than a mile from the boat, but for me, it was fun. Seeing that _I _went past the cheap souvenir shops and expensive restaurants that target people like Tom." Sarah shot a look at Tom.

"I'm sorry if I don't want to be stuck on the Bahamas for the rest of my life!" Tom retorted. "I'd to know I'm safe in an unfamiliar place!"

"Jesus Tom! They give you a time on when to be back on the damn boat!" Sarah yelled back. "You need to stop being scared of everything!"

"Oh shit!" Riley laughed, watching them fight. He was always attracted to fights.

"Huey, can you help me find my… birthday gift?" Jazmine pleaded with him. Huey nodded and went to his room after her. She closed the door and started to tear up.

"They're doing it again. They're fighting, even after the trip. They were supposed to be happier!" she cried. She sat on Huey's bed and buried her face in her knees. Huey walked next to her and rubbed her back. He tried to be comforting, without stating the fact that her parents were doomed from the beginning. "Can you say something? Anything?"

He had to lie to her.

"It's going to be okay Jazmine," Huey said, forcing the words to come out of his mouth.

"You promise?" she asked, looking at him with her watery jade eyes. His leaned into her and gave her a soft kiss.

"I promise."

He leaned into her another kiss, deeper than the first one. "Your parents are downstairs,"  
>he breathed slowly.<p>

"I don't care about them." she replied, leaning in more.

* * *

><p>Riley was sitting down, listening to Tom and Sarah arguing about something not even remotely about what they were talking about before when he realized that Huey and Jazmine had in fact been gone for a long time. He started to snicker to himself and soon got into a big laugh.<p>

"What the hell is so funny, boy?" Granddad asked.

"Nothin, Granddad," he replied, waving off his laughs. "It's just… Huey and Jazmine had been up for bout, ten minutes, and ain't none of y'all said something. They may be knockin' boots for all y'all know."

Tom thought about it for a second, but then he shook his head. "No, my Jazmine wouldn't something like that. She's an angel."

"Uh-huh. So tell me why," Riley said, knowing that he was going to start something. "She wasn't no 'angel' a couple of days ago. Maybe y'all should ask them about that when they finish."

Granddad and Tom looked at each other before turning back to Riley. "So you mean…" they both said at the same time.

"Bingo."

Tom, who stood in silence for a minute, looked at Sarah. "Sarah. Pack up your things. We're leaving."

"Tom, don't you think—"

"Sarah," he repeated. "Get in the car." She sighed and grabbed Jazmine's bags and walked outside. Tom and Granddad heard the door open from upstairs and they walked to the front door. Jazmine saw her father from the hallway and stopped at the top of the stairs. "Get in the car, Jazmine." He commanded.

"But Daddy, I—"

"Get in the car, NOW!" he yelled. She walked down the stairs and was pulled outside. She didn't even get to say goodbye to anyone before the door slammed behind her. Huey came down the stairs after the door closed. Granddad followed him to the living room, where Riley was already sitting, laughing at the situation. Huey sat on the couch, waiting for the bombardment of curses and threats he was about to get.

"Boy!" Granddad yelled. "How could you have been so stupid? Now I'm never going to hear the end of this from Tom. That man never forgets a damn thing! We obviously trusted yo' ass to be responsible! We expect this kind of shit from Riley, not you!"

"Hey!" Riley protested.

"Granddad," he said in a calm voice. "You're acting like I knocked Jazmine up. We just had sex. We even had protection. Teenagers have sex all the time and that usually ends in AIDS, STDs, or teen pregnancy." He shot a look over to Riley who flicked him off. "At least we were careful. I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted to hear but, I don't regret it.

"I guess you're right, Huey, as usual," Granddad considered. "Smart-ass nigga." He muttered under his breath.

Riley shot up. "Aw, what? Granddad you caught me and Cindy like a month ago and you beat my ass fo' like 10 damn minutes! That's sum ole bullshit! You playing favorites, Granddad."

Granddad turned back to Huey. "He's right. You know I don't play favorites. I hate you both equally."

"That's right! So Huey should get his ass beat too!"

"Go upstairs, boy. I'll be there in a minute," Granddad said, walking into the kitchen. Riley started to cheer, because for once, he wasn't getting a whoopin'. Huey sucked his teeth and got up. He bucked at Riley, who flinched back.

"Whateva! You ain't scarin' nobody, nigga! Bet yo' ass won't be acting like that afta' Granddad through wit' you. Come at me then."

"Riley! Stop all that damn instigatin'!" Granddad yelled at Riley. "You gon' be next if you don't shit the hell up!" Riley quickly shut his mouth. The doorbell rang and Huey opened it to see Cindy standing there with her father next to her. He let out a sigh of relief, for he was safe for now.

"Granddad, Cindy and Mr. McPhearson are here!" he called to his grandfather.

He came to the front door. "Yes, may I help you?"

"Mr. Freeman," David started. "It is so nice to finally get in touch with you. Do you have a place where we can have a discussion? As in a family dining room, perhaps?" He was hoping that he could have the whole Freeman family to explain this to.

Granddad eyed Huey suspiciously. "Can this wait five to ten, maybe fifteen minutes?" Granddad offered.

"I'm afraid that I'm very busy and it cannot wait."

Granddad sighed and showed him to the dining room, followed by a calm Cindy, a scowling Huey, and a visibly shaking Riley.

* * *

><p>Tom was fuming. No, fuming wasn't the right word for how he was right now. Fuming is when your child makes a very bad grade on their report card or when someone hits a baseball through your kitchen window. He just found out that his daughter had sex with his neighbor's grandson while he and said neighbor were on vacation.<p>

Thomas Jonathan Dubois was pissed.

"Dad?" Jazmine said timidly.

"How much did you do?" Tom gritted through his teeth. He was placing through the living room. He was scaring both Jazmine and Sarah.

"We just kissed…" she lied.

"Don't… bullshit me, Jazmine!" Tom raised his hand to her, which made Jazmine cower back. "Riley told me everything already, so you can save the 'I'm an innocent girl' act."

Riley. Jazmine made a mental reminder to physically hurt the younger Freeman when she got a chance in the morning. "Daddy, I—"

"Jazmine I can't believe you! I trusted you to be smart and responsible for one week and this is what you do? You know what? You're grounded. Go to your room." Tom yelled. Jazmine stood up in protest.

"Daddy, you can't be serious!"

"Tom, don't you think you're being a little too harsh on her?" Sarah said, finally stepping into the conversation. "I mean, all she did was have sex."

"_All? _He deflowered my innocent baby!" Tom whined.

"It was _Huey_. Stop acting it was some random guy off the street! She's been in love with him for six years! Or has your head been too far up your ass?"

"Really?" he fought back. He slammed his fist into the coffee table. "So what's this really about, Sarah? Because it isn't about Jazmine anymore!"

"You've been shaping Jazmine into being a prude just like you!" she retorted. "Newsflash: The world doesn't need another punk bitch like you!"

"Oh and being a whore like you is raising her right?"

Sarah lowered her eyes. She turned to Jazmine, who ran up the stairs when she saw her mother's reaction. "Ex-_cuse me_?"

"Before we married? You went around? Yeah, I knew. And who knows? It's been happening now, hasn't it?"

Sarah quieted down. She looked up before nodding her head, confirming his suspicions. He went and punched the wall, putting a hole in it.

"I'm sorry, Tom, but I can't do this anymore." She went to the kitchen and got her keys. "Goodbye, Tom." She opened the door and left, leaving a stunned Tom and Jazmine in the house. Jazmine got up from her spot on the stairs and went to her room, slamming the door and locking it. She grabbed her phone and through her tears, dialed Huey's cell phone number. She let it ring three times before she gave up and ended the call. She threw her phone across the room and it bounced off the wall before resting on floor. She crawled under her covers and cried for a good three hours before she went to shower.

After she got out the shower, she heard her vibrating phone and answered it. "H-Hello?"

"You called me?" Huey's voice had calmed her down, but only a little. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I must've butt-dialed you," she lied. "I'm just really tired." She let out a fake yawn, just to seal in her lie. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Goodnight." He had said before she had ended the call. She got back in her bed, and sat there, trying to decipher what had happened.

* * *

><p>Huey looked over at her house and glanced at his watch again. 6:32. Jazmine was always out at 6:30 no matter what. She has never missed the bus, or had ever been late, a trait she had picked up from her father. Huey was about to go walk over to her house when he saw her rushing out of the door and over to the stop.<p>

"Hey," she said out of breath. She looked as if she rolled out of bed, wearing a blue hoodie and jeans. "Sorry, I overslept." In truth, she didn't fall asleep until 3, which is probably why she slept through her original alarm of 5:30 and didn't wake up until 6:15.

"Did you finish the chemistry review for the test?" Huey reminded her. She shook her head no. She was going to finish it last night, but well, she was distracted with other important things. "What's wrong? Did something happen last night?" Huey asked, concerned.

"I… don't wanna talk about it," Jazmine replied. She put her hands in her hoodie and looked up. Daylight was just breaking through and the sun was starting to shine. Huey nodded, knowing that she would tell him when she was ready. That would have been the end of the conversation, until…

"Hey Jazzy, did Tom beat yo' ass?" Riley instigated. He always came outside late and this time was followed by Cindy, who looked half-dead to the world. Jazmine rolled her eyes and kept looking up.

"Shut up, Riley," Huey retorted. It was too early in the morning, even for him, for his brother to be acting like a dumbass nigga.

"Yeah, shut up, Riley, if you know what's good for you," Jazmine muttered out, not even giving him a second glance.

"Good for me?" Riley scoffed. Nigga I ain't scared of yo' ass! You like 90 pounds soakin' wet! You just mad cuz you got caught." Cindy slapped the back of his head gave him a glaring look.

"You really want to know why I'm mad, Riley?" Jazmine asked, still staring at the sky. He nodded his head, laughing. "I'm mad because it's all your fucking fault!" she yelled. She turned to him. "It was you just HAD to open your big-ass mouth to tell them that me and Huey slept together!"

"Jazmine just—" Huey interjected, trying to keep the peace. He placed his hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"Get the _fuck_ off of me!" she screamed at him, making him drop his hand. "It wasn't their fucking business to know, and frankly, it wasn't your business to tell them, asshole!" she continued at Riley. He was nervously shifting in his shoes as she kept going. "Then they started yelling on how they were raising me and they got into a big fucking fight and my mom left. She didn't even get her shit! She was just gone."

"Jazmine, I–" Riley tried.

"I'm not finished!" she yelled, walking closer to him. "So you want to know why I'm mad? I'm fucking mad because you made my mom leave, I'm fucking mad because you made my dad drink and cry last night, I'm fucking mad because you made me only get three fucking hours of sleep last night, and I'm fucking mad because you made my parents break up two days after my goddamn birthday, so FUCK YOU!" she screamed. She had gotten so close to him that she had taken the chance to shove him every time she said a reason. Huey came up and pulled her up by her waist to hoist her away. She was back at the stop when she yelled to him, "And just because your life is fucked up because _you_ knocked up Cindy doesn't mean you can fuck up everyone else's life."

And with that, she got on the bus as it opened up its doors. She plopped into the first open seat she could find, instead of going to the back where she normally sat. Cindy got on next, followed by the Freeman brothers. Huey walked up to Jazmine's seat and was going to sit down, but he was replaced by her backpack.

"Seat's taken," she said. She crossed her arms and turned to the window.

"Jazmine, c'mon. There isn't any more open seats!" Huey protested.

"The. Seat. Is. Taken."

"Jazmine."

"Sit down!" the bus driver barked. It wasn't their usual Uncle Ruckus, but the substitute they provided wasn't any better. Huey sighed and opted for the seat behind her. The boy sitting there was asleep anyways, so he didn't mind. Huey tried to get Jazmine's attention the whole ride, but to no avail. She didn't want to talk to anyone. When the bus stopped at Woodcrest Middle School, he gave Riley a push in the side. Riley was about to turn around, but the girl behind him pushed him to keep getting off the bus.

"Bitch, if you don't quit…" he said as he exited the bus. Huey took the stopping time while the driver was talking to another driver to move up to Jazmine's seat.

Jazmine sucked her teeth. "I told you the seat was taken."

"By your backpack? I don't think so," Huey stated.

"What do you want? You don't always have to check on me. I'm fine."

"Bullshit."

Jazmine threw up her hands. "It doesn't matter, okay? It doesn't concern you," she shrugged.

"I'm pretty sure if my girlfriend goes crazy and curses out my brother, it becomes my concern." Huey explained. He turned towards her, but she averted his gaze. She knew that if she were to look at him, she would break down and cry. She was angry Jazmine, not whiny, sad Jazmine.

"What do you want?" she repeated her tone harsher than before.

"I just want to talk. You look like you need to."

"I don't need to talk, I don't need your help, and I don't need my mom. I'm fine!" she said sternly. The bus stopped at Woodcrest High School and the doors flew open. Jazmine stood up to get off, but Huey blocked her exit. "Huey…" she didn't want to deal with his stubbornness today. He gave her a look that said "_I'm not going to get up until you talk to me._" She sighed and climbed over to get in the seat behind her. She got out the seat and walked off the bus.

"She ain't talk to you?" Cindy asked after appearing behind Huey.

Huey sighed and got up to get off the bus. "Your baby's father is an idiot."

"Yeah he is," she said, shaking her head. "But what can I do? Besides, it ain't like she gon' be mad all day. That ain't Jazzy. She probably gon' be back to normal by first period. She _can't_ be mad forever, right?"

* * *

><p>Jazmine had proven, that yes, she could be mad forever.<p>

Or at least for a day. In the classes she was with Huey (1st, 3rd, 5th, and 7th) she didn't talk to Huey or anyone for that matter. She only did her work, and when the bell rang, she would dart out the room to go to her next class. When Huey got on the bus to go home, he saw Jazmine sitting in the front, by herself. He looked over to her, and continued to the back. She needed her space. At the last stop, the group got off and went to their house. Jazmine scurried home into her own house. He wanted to go over there, but it was too late; the damage had been done and the only person that could fix was Riley.

"Damn, she still mad?" Riley said, watching Jazmine going inside her house. Both Cindy and Huey glared at him, ready to strike him any minute.

"Nigga, you broke up her fam! You think she gon' be peaches about that shit? Boy you dumb!" Cindy yelled at him.

"You need to go apologize, Riley," Huey said, walking to the house.

"Hell. No. Imma real nigga! Real niggas don't apologize! Real niggas just be wrong foreva'! and ain't _no _bitch-ass brother of mine gon' _make _me say sorry!" he laughed. He was about to open the door to go inside, when he was pulled by his cornrows from the back. "Ay, nigga what you doin'?"

Huey pulled Riley's shirt by the collar and started dragging him towards Jazmine's house. "You're going to go apologize." His voice was calm as its always been. Cindy followed the brothers. She was right behind them, shaking her head.

"And if I don't?"

Huey smacked him in his mouth as he did so many times when they were kids. "Any other questions?" Huey asked.

"Alright, alright. Damn. At least let me get my ass up!" Riley complained. He got up and walked up to Jazmine's house. He knocked on the door and waited for her to answer. When she did, she was wearing sweats and her eyes were red and puffy.

"What do you want?" she quietly spoke.

Riley looked back at Huey, who nodded his head. "Jazmine, I am sorry for telling yo' parents that you and Huey fucked," he said it as if he was reading off a piece of paper. "It wasn't my business to tell an' my bad. Y'know, I ain't think on how it would affect yo' fam like that. Is there any way for you to forgive me?"

Jazmine looked at Riley, who seemed sincere. She smiled and opened her arms for a hug. Riley laughed, not knowing it was that easy to be forgiven by Jazmine. He opened his arms to return the hug, but when he got close to her, she put down her arms and slapped him dead smack into the cheek. "Now we're even." She closed her door and locked it.

Huey was trying to stifle his laugh, but Cindy just bursted into a laughing fit. "Damn, she got you good!" she cried out.

Riley shook his head, and pounded on the door. "Did this bitch just slap me? AY, open this damn door! Jazmine! Jazmine! What is wrong wit' yo' ass! I can't believe this shit! This is some ole' _bullshit_! AY! Open the fucking door! Jazmine!"

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _**_Yes, finally done! So if you want to review or if you want to give me some advice or suggestions (I really appreciate them), hit that review button. Love you guys!_


	9. Thursday

Chapter Nine: Thursday

It had been one week, two days and twenty-two hours since Sarah Dubois had said goodbye and left her husband Tom Dubois and daughter Jazmine Dubois for good. She had kept count of the hours. Sarah didn't exactly _plan _on leaving that faithful Sunday. In fact, she wanted to use that day to talk to Tom about seeing a marriage counselor. But when she got that impulse, that _feeling _whenever she was faced with a confrontation, when it came down to Fight or Flight, she knew what was her decision.

She had to run.

She basically ran from confrontations her whole life. Sarah Louise Murphy was born in Boston, Massachusetts to her Irish parents, Donald and Lilly Murphy. When Sarah was ten years old, her parents and her four other siblings ran away to Baltimore, Maryland to escape people they owed money to. When her father died due to cancer at 17, she ran away from her home to live with then boyfriend Zeke Colton. When she was pregnant with daughter Jazmine, she ran away to her mother's house before finally confessing to Tom about his child.

It was like history was repeating itself.

Sarah was sitting on a train to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with her lover Noah Haynes. She grabbed his hand and gripped it tight. He returned the squeeze back to her. She was eagerly awaiting the start to her new life. Whenever she ran away, she felt exhilarated. She felt freedom. She wasn't Sarah Dubois anymore. Well, in the eyes of the law she was, but emotionally, she wasn't. That was only a phase in her life. She wanted to be Sarah Haynes now. Yesterday, she even made sure that she filed for divorce. She opened her wallet to pay for a drink and saw the recent school picture of Jazmine. She started to tear up. Did she really want to go through with this?

"She'll be fine," Noah smiled. He wasn't kidding. Tom _was _a good father, even though he had his… problems. And plus she'd be in good hands with the Freemans next door. She rationalized her decision. She closed her wallet and smiled as she entered the City of Brother Love.

* * *

><p>It had been about ten days since Jazmine last saw her mother. To a normal person, ten days isn't a long time. Jazmine wasn't a normal person. She believed that any day now, her mother would stroll in the house, groceries in her hand and act like nothing had ever happened between any of them. She kind of hoped that that would happen. Unfortunately, that was another piece of her, a somewhat larger piece than the first one, knew that she wasn't coming back.<p>

She sighed and walked inside her house, void and empty of any trance of her mother. It's been this way ever since she left. She closed the door. She hated that she was on punishment. But what she hated more was that she was alone. There were no sounds of the news coming from the TV, no smells of food wafting through the air, no sight of her mom.

She sat on the couch and turned on the TV. There wasn't anything of value on, even for Jazmine, so she fell asleep on the couch. When she woke up, she smelled food. She thought it was Sarah since Tom and Jazmine had been eating takeout or delivery. She got up from her position, hoping to see a blonde woman. Instead, she saw her dad in the kitchen, a cookbook opened on the counter. He stirred something as he studied the page. He looked to see Jazmine standing there.

"Oh hi honey!" he said in his usually cheery voice. He acted as if he didn't go through a dark period just two days ago. "I just thought that maybe… you were tired of eating takeout… I'm trying to cook spaghetti…" it was Jazmine's favorite food. Everybody knew it. And everybody knew that she loved no one's spaghetti as much as Sarah's.

"Uh Dad?" she pointed to the pot, which was boiling over. Tom ran over to it, and pulled it over to the other stove eye. Jazmine stifled a giggle. "Here, let me." She walked into the kitchen and started to take over. "No offense, but you can't cook."

Tom laughed. "Yeah, I can't. I was trying to learn, and I failed… miserably. Maybe, I'll just… get out the way." He walked away and watched as Jazmine easily picked up where Tom left off. She definitely had her skills from Sarah.

* * *

><p>"So, how was your day?"<p>

Jazmine had a face full of noodles in her mouth. She shrugged her shoulders and swallowed her food. "Alright, I guess. I did pretty much nothing since I'm on punishment, you know."

"Jazmine…"

"I'm just saying!" Jazmine protested. "I come directly home from school. No socializing, no nothing. I mean, this was really unfair!" she couldn't help but sound like a white girl. "Daddy, I want to spend time with _my _boyfriend, whether you approve or not!"

"Excuse me?" Tom put down his fork and stared at Jazmine.

"Uhh…" she stammered. The newfound confidence that she had just a few minutes ago was all gone. Ever since last Monday, Jazmine wasn't that girl you could push around anymore. She actually voiced her opinion every once in a while. But when she tried to use it on her father, well that backfired. "What I meant was…"

"I know what you meant," Tom said. He shook his head. "You shouldn't have gone the way you have for this. I'm still mad at what you did." Jazmine rolled her eyes. It was over a week ago! "And I still don't approve of you guys! Jazmine," he sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt. What if… Huey is only using you?"

"Huey wouldn't do that!" she almost immediately blurted out. She knew that Huey isn't one to beat around the bush. Huey would tell you bluntly, even if it would hurt your feelings. Jazmine witnessed that firsthand. But what if… what if Huey was just using her? What if he didn't want a true relationship with her? What if they were just fuck buddies, friends with benefits, no strings attached? She felt her anxiety coming in.

"Jazmine, did you hear me? I said you can go over there tomorrow. But…" he held up his index finger. "You must be home before dark _and _all your homework must be done. If you're so adamant about Huey being the 'perfect boy'," he put air quotes around perfect boy. "Then I guess I should let you be with him…"

It wasn't THAT much of a compromise, but still, it was better than nothing. She was actually surprised that her father even made an effort to come to a happy medium, even though to Jazmine it was still punishment. Sarah's words must have really stuck with him. She finished her food, and then cleaned up the kitchen as she usually did. After that, she went to her room and called Huey to tell him the wonderful news. Then she decided.

What if she surprised him?

What if, instead of telling him ahead of time and watched the bored expressions on his face as he did history and algebra homework, she could _not_ tell him and could _maybe_ get an expression that didn't say 'I-hate-you-and-everyone-around-you'?

Yeah, right. That expression was permanently etched into his face. And plus Huey didn't even like surprises. When he was turning 13, Jazmine made the awful mistake and, despite the objections from Riley and Granddad, threw him a surprise party. When she led him into his dining room, the person who yelled surprise closest to him, which unfortunately, was Tom, got a punch in the face, courtesy of a startled Huey. Which was why they weren't allowed to go to back to the haunted houses in the city of Baltimore.

Was this even going to work?

Well, she wasn't _really_ surprising him, just more like appearing with a nice tidbit of information that her dad wasn't locking in her dungeon one day out the week. This had to work, because she missed him, and she knew that even if he didn't want to admit it out loud, he missed her being around.

* * *

><p>The only thing Huey Freeman missed was peace and quiet. He didn't get much before, but the one thing he could count on was that the mornings, because no true nigga woke up before 10, unless you were forced to go to school. And even then, you probably went to sleep in class, i.e. Riley and Granddad.<p>

But she wasn't a nigga. At least, not on the outside. She biologically was white, which meant she was an early riser. Well, it didn't _guarantee _that if you were white, you were an early riser, but that's beside the point. The fact is, when he comes downstairs, trying to get in a meditation and early morning yoga in before he had to get ready for school, she already was up, cooking breakfast and listening to loud-ass ghetto music.

_And get to mackin' to this bitch named Sadie (Sadie?)  
>She used to be the homeboy's lady (Oh, that bitch)<br>80 degrees, when I tell that bitch please  
>Raise up off these N-U-T's, cause you gets none of these, at ease <em>

Really? It was too damn early to be listening to Gin and Juice! At least it was old hip-hop and not Lil Wayne or someone like that.

And as if on cue...

_I gotta a whole lotta money, bitches count it for me  
>Bottle keep poppin', that's why the bad hoes jockin'<br>It's a party, it's a party, it's a party  
>It's a party, it's a party, it's a party <em>

He was pretty sure none of what he just heard was English.

"Hey, Huey! Wanna piece of bacon? Or eggs?" Cindy said as she danced to the unintelligible mumbling coming from the speakers.

"Vegetarian." he simply said.

"Oh, right! Forgot. Wanna piece of toast? I did some of yo wheat bread, just in case you wanted some," Cindy grabbed two slices of the wheat bread. "No butter, and organic jelly, right?" she put the jar in front of him. "They you go. As long as I'm here, might as well not be COMPLETELY useless, right?" Huey evenly coated the toast and put his jelly back.

"Thanks," he said as he went upstairs. He didn't get his meditations, but he did get a filling breakfast. He opened his door to his room, and in less than three seconds his brother shot out of bed.

"Do I smell... bacon, nigga?" he sniffed the air again. "You...?" he pointed to his brother.

"Try again." Riley thought about it again, but before he could open his mouth, Huey interrupted him. "Not Granddad, either." Riley's eyes got wide.

"White girl can cook?"

"Apparently. She even made me toast." he took a bite of his bread. "Hm. You being a dumbass actually got a good thing out of this. I get breakfast."

Riley sucked his teeth. "Whateva, nigga. Toast ain't breakfast, anyways. Not without no pork, it ain't."

Huey groaned. "For the last time, I'm a… you know there's really no point in arguing about it with you. Just get ready for school."

"Nigga you don't tell me what to do! I'm Young Reezy; I do what I pleases. Ain't no bitch ass brother gon' tell me–" Huey closed the door mid-sentence. It was almost 6:20 and he didn't even start getting ready. He figured that this day wasn't going to be the best anyways.

* * *

><p>"They're coming, I swear!" Jazmine told Uncle Ruckus. She looked towards their door. There was no movement coming out. "Just wait like, two or three more minutes!"<p>

"I'm sorry, little Mulatto, but those coons ain't coming out anytime soon. If there's one thing niggas can do right is be late! I bet those jungle bunnies are still sleeping! Everybody knows that niggas don't wake up until 10! It's common sense! Take your seat, missy, we have to go."

Jazmine looked at him, then back at the door. Still nothing. "I'll just get off, then." she walked down the steps and watched as the bus pulled off and turned the corner to school. A gust of wind blew and Jazmine shivered. '_Maybe this wasn't the best idea..._' she thought. Nonetheless, she went over to the Freeman residence and knocked loudly on the door. When Huey opened the door, his scowl lightened on a little, but she's pretty sure she was the only one who would noticed that, so she smiled. "You missed the bus."

Whatever trace of happiness Huey showed was gone. He lifted his eyebrows. "And you're smiling because...?"

"Huh?" she forgot that she was smiling. "I wasn't smiling because you missed the bus! It was just that... I mean it's because... I'll stop talking now." Jazmine felt her face warm up. She always was embarrassing herself.

"Jazmine, it's okay. You can calm down." Huey said. "You're always smiling. I was just kidding."

"Kidding? Huey Freeman? Those two don't go in the same sentence unless there's a 'never' or a 'doesn't' involved," she giggled. Huey sighed and Jazmine hugged him. "It's okay. I forgive you, though."

"Why did you miss the bus?" Huey asked after escaping the death grip of Jazmine. "You never miss the bus. Ever."

Jazmine laughed uncomfortably. "Well, the funny thing is... I _didn't_ miss the bus." she looked up trying to choose her words carefully. "I decided... not to ride the bus today?" she looked back at Huey, who was still looking... well like Huey. She shivered. "Can I come inside? It's _really_ cold out here." he sighed and stepped aside to let her in. Her pink tinted cheeks started to turn back to their original color.

"Why don't you get a jacket from your house?" he said going upstairs. Jazmine followed him.

"And get chewed out by my father about missing the bus? No thanks, but I rather get hypothermia than that." Huey went to his closet and grabbed the first jacket he had and handed to her.

"Wouldn't be impossible out there. Why didn't you have a jacket anyways?"

"I didn't think it was that cold!" Jazmine protested. She pulled the hoodie over her head. "Sorry, for being misinformed."

"You wouldn't be misinformed if you watched the news." Huey noted. They went back downstairs and saw Riley and Granddad arguing… again.

"Granddad, why you hoein'? All we ask it that you take us to school, it ain't that hard!" Riley whined.

"The answer is no. Y'all little dumbasses shouldn't have missed the damn bus in the first place!" he yelled. He cocked his head to the side. "Why _did _y'all miss the bus?"

"Reezy's stupid ass wants to take forever in the damn shower!" Cindy huffed. She was sitting on the couch, arms folded into her chest. "Man, I had to pee!"

"I gotta look fresh when I go to school. Sorry I don't look like I just woke up, like Huey does," Riley pointed out.

"What's wrong with how I dress?"

"Anyways," Cindy interrupted before Riley could answer. "Mr. Freeman, can you please please _please _take us to school?"

"Hell. No," Granddad stated. "You can walk to school. Y'all ain't crippled." He turned to go up the stairs and saw Jazmine awkwardly standing next to Huey. "What is she doing here?"

"Uhh…" was all Jazmine could squeak out.

"She missed the bus too," Huey explained, sparing the fate of Jazmine having to talk. She nodded quickly to seal the deal. "We were going to walk anyways. Come on, Jazmine." He tugged on her jacket, making her move again and started their walk to the school.

* * *

><p>Jazmine waited by her locker, as she usually did after fourth period. Today was an exceptionally slow day, all of her classes dragging for what seemed like an eternity. She opened her locker and traded her World History book for her French workbook. She looked into the mirror that's hangs on the door and made faces into them.<p>

"Those are some nice faces you're making," the oddly familiar voice said. She closed the door enough to see the person who was addressing her. "Hi Jazmine."

"Hello Rashad," she replied, smiling. She grabbed the backpack that she left on the ground. "What can I help you with?"

"Right. So you know how you working on PowerPoint for history, right?" Rashad started. Jazmine nodded in response. "Okay so since I hafta work on the quiz question from the presentation, I was wondering if you could text me the facts from it?"

Jazmine turned her head to see Huey walking toward her with a look on his face. '_I hope he doesn't get the wrong idea…_' she wondered. "Um… yeah. Sure." She said handing him a Sticky-Note and a Sharpie. She turned to the direction of Huey, but saw that he disappeared in the crowd of high schoolers. Rashad finished and stuck the note on her chest.

"Don't prank call me, girl!" he yelled as he walked away from her.

"I won't!" she yelled back. Just as she opened her locker again, two objects flew inside. Jazmine gasped and looked inside to see Chinese throwing stars stuck to the back of her locker. She huffed loudly. "I'm keeping them," she said as he walked up behind her.

"What the hell is up with that dude?" Huey said as he leaned up on the lockers. "I mean, that looked like he was trying to get his ass beat by me."

"We're working on a project together," Jazmine retorted. She closed her locker and walked towards their class. "Don't be silly, Huey."

He ripped the Sticky-Note off of her. "But did he give you his cell phone number? Has the nigga never heard of Yahoo? There's email in the world, you know." He read the note. "What is this? A _smiley face_? Are you _kidding _me?"

Jazmine smiled. "Huey…"

"And that comment? 'Don't prank call me!'" he said in a mocking tone. He scoffed. "Yeah, like you'd really call him for recreational purposes." He turned to her. "You better not. I think he has a thing for you Jazmine; you better be careful."

"Huey…"

"I swear if he steps out of bounds one damn time. One. Time. I swear on everything that I have ever loved in my entire life that I will—"

"Huey!"

He stopped. "What Jazmine?"

"You're jealous!" she walked into the classroom, leaving Huey to stew in what she just said to him. Did she just call him… _jealous_? He walked in and sat behind her.

"Did you just call me—?"

"Jealous? Yeah, I did. Now that I'm actually your girlfriend, you see Rashad as a threat. Even though I don't see why. It's kinda cute, really," she shrugged. She turned back around to do her warm-up.

"I'm not jealous!" he blushed. He hated how hot his cheeks felt right now. He also hated that, deep down inside of him, he did feel a little threatened by Rashad. "What if he had other ulterior motives? Like he wants to _talk_?"

You're not helping your case, Huey," Jazmine giggled. She turned around and saw his red face. "Aww, you're blushing!" she smiled. He turned away from her and pulled out a marker from his backpack.

"Shut up and give me your arm." She did as she was told, holding in her giggles. She saw as she wrote on her right arm in black marker.

_Property of Huey P. Freeman._

"Are you serious?" Jazmine laughed, "I'm so not anyone's property, especially because I'm a person, not an object! You really are paranoid." She got an index card and wrote _Property of Jazmine B. Dubois _on it, then taped it to the hoodie he was wearing. "So the girls won't attack you."

"Yes, because all the sluts just would love a piece of me," he said sarcastically.

"Speaking of sluts…" Jazmine said, watching Clarissa Faulkner walk over towards them. Clarissa was the self-proclaimed "Baddest Bitch of Woodcrest," but really she was just a bitch. She was one of those girls at your school who probably fucked every dude in your class, but for some reason, went after the guy you were dating. Or in Jazmine's case, Huey.

"Hi Huey!" she beamed. He rolled her eyes. He only had to see her once a day, since this was his only regular class and Clarissa was kind of stupid. Even then, she still managed to piss him off. "I have to take up warm-ups. Are you finished?" he lifted up his paper for her. "Thank you!" she turned to Jazmine. "Dubois. You got your paper or are you too dumb to finish it?"

"Actually Faulkner," Jazmine shot back. "I finished. A _long _time ago. But thanks for trying, though." She gave Clarissa her paper with a smug look on her face. Clarissa glanced down at Jazmine's right arm. She pulled it closer to her so she could read it.

"'Property of Huey Freeman.' That's really cute," Clarissa commented in a sarcastic tone. "So what? You guys go out or something?"

"And if we do? It isn't any of your damn business to know," Jazmine snapped. She just wish that Clarissa can go bother someone else for once.

"Oh, so Dubois has an attitude problem. That's so cute. Keep her around, Huey. She looks like a keeper," Clarissa scoffed. She flipped her long weave and walked away. Jazmine wanted to sock her in her eye, but instead counted to ten and cooled down.

"I really don't like her." Jazmine muttered.

* * *

><p>Jazmine got off the bus afterschool and followed Huey to his house. Huey turned around suspiciously. "Aren't you still on punishment?"<p>

"My father let me come over today," Jazmine smiled. "So you can spend the whole day with me!"

"Yay," Huey said with no emotion. Jazmine lightly smacked him in the shoulder and gave him a look. "Hey, at least I gave you some kind of response."

"Whatever. Besides, I need help with my French homework. Not all of us are blessed with a 94." Jazmine sighed.

"That's because you never study," he told as he opened the door.

"You don't either!"

"But I have a 94," he smirked. She pouted and went to his room. She headed straight towards his bed and put her French book in front of her. She laid her workbook next to it and stared at both of them.

"I'm bored!" she whined. "Entertain me!"

Huey sat down at his desk and turned on his computer. "Do your work. That should be enough entertainment for you." She looked back down at the book before smacking it with her face.

"This isn't entertaining!" she groaned loudly. "I don't understand it either. Huey, can you help me… please?" she put on her cutest puppy dog face that she knew he couldn't resist.

He rolled his eyes. "Alright. Come here." She squealed and jumped into his lap. "That's not what I—"

"How do you pronounce this?" she asked, lifting her book into his face, completely disregarding his comment. "Number three."

"Elle a deux chiens," he replied in perfect French.

"Elle a…"

"_Ah_, not _ay_."

"Elle _ah _deux chiens. Is that right?" she checked. He nodded. She clapped her hands in joy and wrote it down. "Does it mean… She has two dogs?" When he nodded again, she did a little dance in her seat, er, Huey's lap. She was writing in her workbook as Huey read from his AP World History book, or WHAP as Jazmine called it. She lifted her head up and asked, "Huey, is it always this quiet on a Thursday?"

Huey looked up as well. It _was _eerily quiet in his house for it to be a weekday. It probably hasn't been this quiet since… ever. "Hm. Probably because we're the only ones here."

"Well, I know Cindy has basketball practice until 6, Riley, nine times out of ten, probably has detention, and Mr. Freeman is where?"

Huey thought about for a second, then turned back to his AP book. "I think he goes to the movie on Thursday. They have a discount for seniors today and him being as cheap as he is probably went. I think he went to see that new Friday movie. You know how much he loves Friday."

"So we're home… alone?" Jazmine questioned. She was still scribbling in her workbook, but they looked more like doodles than actual work. "We could do whatever we want… and not get caught."

"No, Jazmine," Huey said, catching her drift. He needed to study for WHAP tonight. "I have to read this chapter."

"What are you talking about?" she said, faking innocence. "What? You think I want to…" she stopped to look around. "Have sex?" she whispered and then gasped loudly. "Huey Freeman, I am a saint!" she giggled.

"You're overdramatic, that's what you are," he joked. He got his book and started to read intensely, but he was distracted by Jazmine's humming. "Get up, I have to read for real." She shook her head. "Jazmine, don't be stubborn." She scooted deeper into his lap.

"I like being stubborn, though," she turned to him. "You don't like stubborn me?" she pouted to show that she was hurt. He sighed and tickled her in that special place on her neck and immediately she giggled and fell out the chair. "Hey, I could have been hurt!"

"I told you to get up," he shrugged. She retaliated by stealing his book out of his hands when he wasn't paying attention. "Jazmine, give it back."

"Apologize!"

Huey rolled his eyes. "I'm not apologizing because I warned you to get up but you stay right where you were. Now, give me the book." Her eyes lowered her eyes and walked to his window and smiled. "What are you about to do?" he asked her, rising out of his seat to watch her.

"I wonder if history books can fly…" she said in an innocent voice. He ran towards her, trying to get his book, but she turned around and pushed him away with her foot. "Move Huey! Say sorry or you're not getting it back!" She ran and jumped on the bed, trying to get out the room. Huey grabbed her foot and pulled her to him. He jumped on top of her, stretching his fingers out to get the book. Jazmine flicked her wrist and the book went flying out of her hands and under Riley's junky bed.

"Huey! I'm so sorry! I'll get it for you," she said putting her hand over her mouth. She looked up and saw the frown forming on his face. She couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" he asked.

"You're cute when you're angry," she laughed again, making his frown deepen. "Aww!" she cooed, kissing him on the cheek. "That was _too _cute."

"I'm not cute. I am a revolutionist and revolutionists aren't cute. They're cold and mean."

"Well, you are." Jazmine smiled. She pulled him down by his collar to give him another kiss. Huey returned the kiss deeper and even adjusted himself on her. They were enjoying each other's company when they heard a knock on the door.

Huey broke the kiss and hoped it wasn't Granddad. "Yes?"

"Huey! I need yo' help on Algebra!" they both let out a sigh of relief when they heard Cindy's voice. "Why is yo' door locked?" she jiggled the doorknob.

"Come back later!" he barked at the door.

"Shit! Nevamind, Imma ask someone else," Cindy yelled back. Her footsteps faded back down the hallway. Huey looked back down at Jazmine.

"That wasn't very nice, Huey," she said.

"I'm sorry I want to spend time with my girlfriend since her father keeps her locked inside the house six days a week."

"That doesn't give you—" She was cut off by the sound of her ringtone blaring.

_Tonight  
>We are young<br>So let's set the world on fire  
>We can burn brighter than the sun<em>

"Ignore it."

"Actually, that's Cindy's…"

"Well, well, well. That's why he didn't want me around! Hey Jazzy girl," Cindy said closer to the door.

"Hi."

"Don't be ashamed! You just tryna get it in! Just strap up. Don't wanna end up like me!" she laughed as she walked away.

"I hate our friends." Huey said.

* * *

><p>Riley had to walk home from school. Again. Every time he had detention afterschool on a Thursday, he can bet money that his ass had to walk to the house. It was only half a mile away, but Riley was pretty lazy and he didn't feel like walking anywhere after being with that stupid-ass detention teacher. Plus, he did his exercise when he had to walk to school this morning.<p>

"Fuck." At least it wasn't hot. He went down the first steps and headed towards his house. As he was walking, he thought about Cindy and what his plan was, which was nothing at this point. He wanted to cry or run, but since she was at his house, those were out the question. He turned the corner and saw a girl, about two houses ahead and on the other side of the street. She was black and had on shorts and a jacket. The first thing Riley noticed was her ass. It was perfect. He couldn't help but compare her to Cindy. And while Cindy's was nice for a white girl, this random broad's was ten times better.

What was he saying?

He was in love with Cindy; he was damn sure about that. But the fact that she did cheat on him and he saw her every day, 24/7, had started to take its toll. Besides, he couldn't date her even if he wanted to. He had a kid on the way!

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

The random girl was staring back at Riley. He must've been staring at her when he spaced out. He scoffed at her and kept walking.

"Hoe, ain't nobody looking at you," he said, trying to play it off.

"Great. Imma have to beat a nigga's ass today," she retorted, walking to Riley. She stopped and looked at him closer. "You're the dude from the party!"

"Huh?"

"The party at Chris's house. You were there! We did the Kid and Play together!" the girl laughed. Riley thought about that party. He only went there because Cindy pissed him off and he knew she didn't like Chris's parties at all. He did remember getting sloppy wasted and doing a bunch of shit he didn't exactly agree with. "I'm Amani."

"Riley."

"Where do you live?"

"Uh… Timid Deer Lane. 546 Timid Deer Lane," Riley said.

"Oh shit, forreal? I live at 544 Timid Deer Lane! We can walk together," Amani said. "I mean, if you want to."

He needed someone to talk to anyways; he didn't like when he was left alone to his thoughts.

* * *

><p>"Say something cute in French!" Jazmine ordered. She was sitting in Huey's lap on his bed, reading a Seventeen magazine. Since Cindy came home early from practice, it kind of ruined any mood they were trying to go for. It was okay, because her just being here made him happy.<p>

"Je t'aime." He whispered in her ear. She giggled and rocked from side to side, liking that Huey's multilingual-ness was coming in handy for her. She looked outside the window and saw the sun was going down. She groaned. "Do you really have to?"

"Yeah, that was our agreement: Home before dark," Jazmine said as she put back on his hoodie. She looked in her pockets to find her phone is missing. "Hey, can you call my phone?" Huey grabbed his phone from the nightstand and dialed her number.

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else,  
>The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,<br>But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,  
>You don't know,<br>Oh oh,  
>You don't know you're beautiful.<em>

Her phone was behind a pillow on his bed. He fished for it until he finally got it. "Hubby? How cute," he joked. She snatched her phone from his hands.

"Shut up," she pouted. She leaned into him to give him a goodbye kiss. "Bye, Huey."

"Bye Wifey," he said as she closed the door. She's glad that she closed it when she did, because she could feel the red forming on her face. She went downstairs and said bye to Cindy, who was in the kitchen.

"Bye, lil' Freak!" she yelled out to her. Jazmine's face got red all over again. She didn't like the nicknames she was getting today. She walked outside and looked left and right to cross the street. When she looked right, she saw Riley talking to a… girl. A _girl_? Is he _serious_?

"Ay, Mike Tyson. What you doin' over here?" Riley said when he walked away from the girl and went to his house. He still hadn't gotten over the fact that she slapped him.

"I didn't punch you…" she said distracted. She watched as the girl until the random chick walked into the house. "Who was the girl you were talking to?"

Riley's face dropped. "Huh?"

"Don't 'huh' me! Who is she?" she demanded. She watched as Riley darted to the ground to his shuffling feet. "Riley Samuel Freeman, if you don't tell me who she is right now…"

"Damn, alright! Stop sweatin' me! Look, she this girl I met at a party and turns out she goes to our school. She ain't nobody; she just so happens to live next to me, but that don't mean nothing." He admitted. Jazmine shoved him hard. "Ay! What was that fo'?"

"Don't be stupid, Riley! You have Cindy, remember?"

"Correction: Me and C-Murph broke up. We just together for the baby." He lifted his finger to correct her.

"But you still have a baby! Does that _tramp_ know that?"

"You actin' like we datin' or somethin'. Are you sure it's Huey you want and not me?" he joked. "I mean we can go and do a little something—" she slapped him in his arm. "Girl, if you don't stop right now…"

Well, stop trying to change the subject! Cindy is my best friend and she deserves to know that her child's father wants to fuck a girl who lives next door!"

"Your language is offendin' me," Riley said, putting his hand on his heart. Jazmine eyes lowered. "Damn girl, I was just kidding."

"One week Freeman, or I'm telling Cindy!" she walked off saying. She came back and smacked Riley in the arm again. "And that's for even _thinking _I would want Huey over your stupid self!"


	10. From Bad to All Screwed Up

**_A/N: _**_There is a lemon... or half a lemon, because it doesn't really... okay you know what? Never mind, but I did warn you! Anyways, Chapter ten! (on a side note, I honestly didn't think I would last this long...)_

Chapter Ten: From Bad to All Screwed Up

"What's on your mind, Reez?" Amani asked while she watched him mindlessly flipped through his math book. They were sitting on the top of the bleachers in the main gym of their school, where he always went for their study hall time. This week was the first time he actually invited her to come with him, because he usually liked to be left alone. He came here with Cindy while she was still in middle school, but when she left, he hadn't bothered showing anyone else his secret spot. Up until now.

"Huh?" he distantly said. He had been raring at this chapter of the book ever since they got there, quietly listening while Amani blathered on abut whatever she talked about. "I'm still listening."

"Yeah, but you ain't REALLY paying attention. You jus' goin' through the motions. You off in an other world," she said, breaking up the word 'another' in a weird way that made Riley laugh. "What?"

He shook his head as he watched the sixth graders played basketball. They reminded him of when he played at age eight, mindlessly passing or shooting the ball, with no intentions of making actual baskets. He sighed, knowing they were just having fun, not playing for real. Was that what he was doing? He was just having fun with Amani, no intentions of having a real relationship? Not playing for real? He shook his head, although he didn't have true feelings for her, he liked her; she was a cool girl to kick with.

"Reezy." Amani repeated with a slightly annoyed voice in her tone. He shook his head to clear the thoughts. "I made up this game. Wanna play?"

He shrugged his shoulder and turned to her. "Yeah, I guess." She pulled out a deck of cards and passed them out evenly between the two of them.

"Okay, so basically this game is like war, but if you lose a hand, you hafta answer a question, aiight?" Amani explained. Riley nodded his head again, and put down his first card. A Queen. She retaliated by putting down a Jack, losing the hand.

"Where are you from?" Riley asked. It was a little sad that they had known each other for about a week and he hasn't asked her where she came from.

"Oakland," she replied. She put down her next card.

Riley wrinkled his nose. "Why did you move out here?" She looked down at her card. He put down the card, which one the hand again. "Why did you move out here?" he repeated, as if he knew he would win in the first place.

"My moms. She said I wasn't learning too much over there. So she shipped me to Maryland. To be honest, I ain't really do shit, but still. That was my home." They both played their next card, which Amani finally won. "Are you from Baltimore?" Riley shook his head. The hand, he lost again. "Where are you from?"

"Chicago. The place I'm going back to next week," he smiled. He put the next card down and won. "Um… when's your birthday?"

"March 22nd." she said, looking at him. She smiled, and he smiled back. She won the next hand and asked him, "Do you got a girl?"

Riley stopped in his tracks. What was he supposed to say? _'No I don't technically have a girlfriend, but my ex who lives with me is about eight weeks pregnant?_' That wasn't a good look, on anyone's part. As he contemplated the answer, Amani snapped in front of his face.

"Dang, nigga! How long you been out?" Amani, who didn't notice that he stopped when her question came up, laughed. She just though he tuned out, as he did many times, before he heard the question. "I said, 'do you have a girlfriend'?" He shook his head violently. The next hand Amani won. "So you won't get mad if I do this?"

"Do what?" was all Riley could say when Amani leaned into Riley and planted her lips onto his, catching him, and all of us really, off guard. Riley didn't protest or even move for that split second, then it all came back to reality. He pulled away after an awkward five seconds. He looked at her and her light hazel eyes blinked in confusion.

"I-I have to go."

He picked up his book and bag, and rushed down the bleachers, almost losing his balance around the ninth or tenth step. He left the gym and went into the boys' locker room. He went to the row of sinks and splashed his face, making sure he wasn't dreaming or anything. He sat on the bench and looked at his watch. Ten minutes until fifth period. Great. He still had to see her in fifth period AND she rode the bus with him. He was in so deep, he doesn't know if he can even THINK about getting out. He did the only logical thing: Text the one girl who could possibly help him.

_Reezy: I did sumthin bad_.

It took a long time for her respond, probably because it was the passing period at the high school. He sighed, anxiously waiting for her to help him do damage control about the situation.

_Jazmine: we know. And you're going to die for it._

"What?" Riley said aloud. Who was gonna kill him? Jazmine? Nah, it didn't affect her in that kind of way. Huey? He may be a bitch, but he didn't butt into his life, like Jazmine did. So who's left? Cindy? But he hadn't told her yet, and Jazmine, who never broke a promise, couldn't have told because it was only Tuesday and he had two days left. Unless she did...

_Jazmine: You should probably brace yourself on the bus going home… and check Twitter while you're at it. Bye!_

Her vague messages didn't mean anything until she said to check Twitter. What was on there? He couldn't get a good enough signal in the locker room, so he left and went outside on the track and sat down near the chain-link fence. He logged into his account, and looked at his Timeline. There was random tweeting going around, not showing any significance. Until he got to a tweet by Cindy.

_C-Murph: Don't trust niggas. Simple as that. They'll bullshit you until they can't no more. #fuckyou_

He couldn't help but feel that that message was aimed at him. He scrolled down a little further to see why she was pissed off.

_JessieJ: ooh, C-Murph gonna beat that ass when she see this! Lol! #bustedbigtime_

There was a link to Twitpic on the Tweet, and Riley clicked it, not fully knowing what he was going to see.

And there it was.

Him and Amani, on the top of the bleachers, mid kiss, without a care in the world. In those five seconds, his world went from perfectly okay to breaking into a million tiny little pieces, scattered across the Universe. There was no way he's getting out of that hole.

* * *

><p>Jazmine huffed as she sat down next to Huey at lunch. "I freaking hate Clarissa's freaking guts. She's a stupid… buttface."<p>

"Nice choice of words there," Huey said as he pulled out his sandwich. He unwrapped his food and turned to Jazmine, who was practically drooling over it. "Do you want a piece?" he asked her. She closed her mouth and nodded. He sighed and gave her half of the sandwich. "You really need to start using your words."

"But you understand me, so there's no point," Jazmine joked. They sat there for a while until Cindy came through with her tray filled with cafeteria snacks and other miscellaneous junk foods. "I don't think that's really healthy since you're pregnant," Jazmine pointed out.

Cindy shrugged. "But I'm hungry, and I want this," she announced. She opened the first pack of chocolate donuts. She offered it to the couple, which Huey grimaced and rejected, while Jazmine took one. "See? Donuts make everyone happy! Besides, it won't stay down for long." Cindy said, stuffing the rest down. Cindy's 'morning sickness' carried throughout the day, but at least it came in schedules. The Freemans' knew to stay clear of the restroom from 3:30 to 4:00 and 6:30 to 7:00.

"I can't believe you can actually digest that stuff. It looks like it will kill you in a second," Huey said finishing up his sandwich.

"Well, I'm sorry Mr. I-Eat-Peanut Butter-With-Organic Jelly-Sandwiches. I like eating this stuff. Because it makes me happy in my dull life," Cindy smiled. "Just like Twitter makes me happy in my dull life." She pulled out her phone and started pressing buttons.

"Hey, his sandwiches are _really_ good. It's like, I feel me getting healthier by just eating them," Jazmine defended. She snuggled up to Huey and put her head on his shoulder.

"Thank you."

"But I like to counteract it with drinking the 'White Man's Poison'," she said, opening a bottle of Snapple. "I'm sorry, but this is also _really_ good." Huey sighed and shook his head.

"What. The fuck. Is. This."

Huey and Jazmine looked at Cindy, who was starting at her phone. The couple looked at each other and turned back to Cindy. "What's wrong?" Jazmine finally asked. Cindy sat there for a second, still staring at her phone. Then she turned away and gave her phone to Jazmine, who looked at it immediately. She was in shock when she saw Riley and some girl, probably the girl from Thursday, lip locking in broad daylight on the bleachers. She gave the phone to Huey, who looked down and gave it back and slapped his forehead.

"Dammit, Riley." was all he could say.

"You damn right imma beat that ass!" she said, referring to the tweet that the poster put with the picture. "What is this shit? How the fuck can he do somethin' so… fucked up?" She stuck out her hand to get her phone back, and then slammed it on the table. "Did any of you fuckers know about this?" she yelled at them.

"One," Huey started, his voice calm and bored. "Don't call us fuckers. We didn't do this shit to you. You are yelling at the wrong people, so calm that shit down." She cooled down, but was still fuming. "Secondly, I don't give a damn about your relationship. I only care about one relationship and that's mine. So he doesn't tell me anything, I don't tell him anything. End of story."

Cindy turned to Jazmine, who staring at a place on the wall. "Well, what about you, Dubois? I bet you know something." Jazmine looked at the place, not moving her eyes. "How long have you known?" she gritted through her teeth.

Jazmine was quiet for minute, and then the gates opened. "Since Thursday, but he swore she was just a friend! I told him that I'd give him a week before I told you, but went and did this," Jazmine was tearing up and her voice was getting high and squeaky. "I'm so sorry, Cindy! I didn't think that this would happen! Cindy you have to forgive me, please!" Jazmine cried through her tears. Cindy shook her head and walked away. Jazmine started to cry harder, causing people to look at her. Huey rubbed her back and soothe her. She stopped crying, but the hiccups that happened after she cried too much at one time started up. "Huey? I really -hic- am sorry," she said, her cheeks red and her eyes still glossy.

"I know you are," Huey said, still rubbing her back. He watched the door where Cindy walked out minutes ago. "I'm going to go talk to her," he said, standing up.

"Huey! -hic- No!" Jazmine protested. "Do _not_ go talk -hic- to her!"

"And why the hell not?"

"The last girl you talked to after she made me cry this hard had to go to therapy! Cindy -hic- already has too many problems to deal with!" Jazmine informed him. Huey got his water bottle out of his bag and gave it to her. "Thank -hic- you." As she chugged down the water, Huey quietly snuck out of her sight to where he saw Cindy leave. He walked until he came to a blonde girl sitting outside in the corner of the school.

"What do you want?" Cindy snapped as she saw someone block the few rays of sunlight that were breaking through the dark sky.

"Nothing," he said as he sat down in front of her.

"Then leave. This has nothing to do with you."

"True," Huey shrugged. "But when you made Jazmine cry, it became my business. That was really uncalled for."

"I don't give a fuck!" she yelled. "I don't give a fuck about Jazmine crying, and I don't give _two_ fucks about Riley's dumb self. So you can shut that shit up right now."

"You know, you have _worst_ fucking attitude of any of Jazmine's friends. I don't understand why she's even friends with you. Personally, I would have dropped your ass a LONG time ago, because you really piss me off," he said, looking at the sky.

"Your pep talk isn't working, but thanks for trying," Cindy scoffed.

"This isn't a pep talk, but thanks for asking," Huey retorted. "I'm just wondering, how many mistakes have you made since… I don't know, October?" Cindy was quiet. "Let's see. You had sex unprotected, you didn't do anything to prevent pregnancy, you got pregnant, and you cheated on my brother. Am I missing anything?" Huey said. "And how many of those times was Jazmine there to pick you up after you fucked up, no questions asked?" Cindy, again, didn't mutter a word. "That's what I thought. Jazmine loves you, me, Riley, and even my Granddad more than all of us can give her combined. So before you write her off, maybe you should outweigh the pros and cons." Huey got up and walked away as the bell rang.

* * *

><p>"I really hate taking tests," Jazmine pouted as she walked to the bus after school. This week was midterms week and although Jazmine was pretty smart, she had to take both her Chemistry and French midterms today. Back to back. "Why does the universe hate me?" she groaned.<p>

"I didn't they were that hard," Huey said, following Jazmine on the bus. Huey really didn't have to take the tests; he could've skipped this whole week and still would've made good grades. "I try to tutor you, but I think you just don't want to learn."

"I'll just be a singing hobo for the rest of my life," Jazmine said, laughing. She was about to say something else when she saw Cindy rush to the bus. She looked at Jazmine and smiled, but turned to Huey and flipped him off. "Did you talk to her?" Huey just stared off somewhere else. She slapped his arm. "Huey! I told you NOT to talk to her. And what do you do? You go talk to her! What did you tell her?"

"The truth. You know I don't lie. Ever."

"So? That doesn't mean you can go and crush people's feelings and dignities!" Jazmine shot back. "Do you know that I'm going to have to go back and fix this after all of this is over?"

"Yep," Huey smirked. That was exactly his point. Jazmine always had to go and fix other people's problems, especially Cindy's. He got up and walked toward the bus, with Jazmine following not too far behind. He let Jazmine get on first, and she was walking, she was pulled into a seat. Huey looked as he saw Riley grabbing on her arm. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I need to talk to her," Riley explained. Huey gave him a look to make him cringe. "For like five damn minutes, then y'all can go back to kissing or fucking or whatever y'all do back there. Shit." Huey rolled his eyes and kept walking to the back.

"You better have a good reason for what you did, because I, myself, am two seconds from slapping the shit out of you." Jazmine rolled her eyes.

Riley blinked. "How come you only cuss when it has to do with me?" he wondered out loud.

"Maybe you're the only one who pisses me off enough to make me curse!" Jazmine snapped.

"Not even Huey? That mean he ain't hittin' it right. I mean if you wanna be with–"

"Riley, don't even think about finishing that sentence," Jazmine said in a low tone. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Damage control."

"Are you kidding me?" Jazmine nervously laughed. "She chewed me out this morning just because I knew about the other girl and didn't tell her! So I think me helping you is out of the question." She turned to go to the back, where Huey was, but the bus started moving, and she had to sit back down. "Just because I'm stuck here, doesn't mean I'll help you."

"Bro, come on! You the only chick I know who can do this! I mean, C-Murph ain't gon listen to no one except yo ass." Riley pleaded. "I ain't gon beg but, can you PLEASE do it?"

"While I appreciate the flattery you're giving me, I can't do it," Jazmine sighed. Riley was about to say something else, but Jazmine stopped him. "I don't think you understand. I CAN'T do it. She won't listen to me, because I didn't do it. You need to tell her how you feel yourself. If I tell her what you say, she'll just get pissed because she didn't hear it from you. So damage control has to come from you. Granted, I have to do my own talking, but the most important part is coming from that black thing in your chest you call a heart. Can I go now?" Riley nodded and as soon as the bus stopped, she jumped to the back.

"What did you tell him?" Huey said when she sat down next to him.

"The truth," she said, repeating his words. "Hey, I saw Cindy up there," Jazmine said, pointing to the girl sitting a couple seats ahead of them. "Did she say anything to you?"

"Actually she did." Huey looked up and scratched his chin. "In fact, she said something on the lines of 'You're a complete asshole.' Something like that." Jazmine shook her head. "Did you tell him how she's going to beat the shit out of him?"

"Ehh... I didn't think it was vital to tell him," she smiled. "Besides, it wouldn't be nearly as funny if he knew."

The bus soon stopped at the last stop, the Freeman's house. Riley quickly got off the bus and Cindy was next. She walked off slowly, as if she was thinking on how she was going to kill him. Huey and Jazmine followed her, not getting too close to her warpath. When they got off, they saw Riley walking up to Cindy. He was doing damage control as fast as possible. He started to talk, although neither Huey nor Jazmine could hear him.

"FUCK OFF!" she screamed, pushing Riley out the way. Well they definitely heard that one. "I don't wanna hear shit you have to say!"

"Cindy, you bein fucking stubborn ain't gon help shit!" Riley scoffed back, but soon realized his mistake. The couple got a little closer to be in hearing range of Riley when he cursed under his breath.

"Stubborn? I'm fucking stubborn? Let me remind you that I'm carrying your child in my fucking stubborn self. So when you hear me yelling at you, there's two people saying fuck you to you." Cindy spat out. "Let me also remind you of all the bullshit lines you fed me over time. _'I don't wanna fuck random hoes.' 'I care for you, Cindy.' 'I'll always love you, Cindy, no matter what happens.' 'Imma be there for you, Cin. Promise.'_ So tell me, was it all total bullshit, or did you happen to realize that you don't really want to do this? You know what? I don't really give two fucks what you say. Because in the end, you did what you did. And even though I cried and said sorry a million times over for what I did, at least I didn't feed you what you wanted to hear. Just answer this: Was it good and worth it?" She didn't even give him a chance to answer before she walked away.

"I think your blowup was better, but hers was more emotional," Huey shrugged. Jazmine nodded in agreement.

"Your plan sucked, Jazzy." Riley coughed as he went inside. She rolled her eyes at looked back at Huey.

"I have to go," she said, her hands in his, swinging back and forth. She stood up to give him a kiss. "But tomorrow's Thursday, and Thursdays are our special days." She said, biting her lip. Huey simply nodded his head and gave her another kiss before letting go. He watched as she skipped to her house. When she was safely in her house, he turned and went to his own house, only to be welcomed with loud screaming and yelling.

"Hey. Hey!" he yelled over everybody else. Soon it was quiet. "What the..." he saw Granddad staring at him. "heck… is going on in here?"

"This girl is bitching because she has to go to the doctor tomorrow," Riley said, sitting on the couch.

"No, I'm bitching because I hafta go with you stupid ass!" Cindy corrected him.  
>"Well boohoo because unfortunately I hafta go because SURPRISE! That kid is mine!"<br>"You gon stop talking to me like I'm fucking five, nigga!"  
>"And what you gon do?"<br>"Beat that ass, that's what!"  
>"Girl, boo!"<p>

Huey walked over to Granddad and looked at him. "How long have they been like this?"

Granddad sighed. "Ever since I told them ten minutes ago." Granddad shook his head and went to the stairs. "Do whatever you can to make these niggas stop yelling in my house. Damn, I am TOO old for this shit. Gon run me into the grave," he muttered as he went up to his room.

Huey went to garage and grabbed the air horn and the protective gear off of the shelf. He came back inside to see them still arguing. 'Drastic times calls for drastic measures.' He pushed the button, letting a loud and harsh sound come out. Cindy and Riley both covered their ears.

"Aye, nigga! Was all that really necessary?" Riley said, after Huey put the can down. "Shit. Gonna break a nigga's eardrums."

"Well, can you shut the hell up for more than five minutes?" Huey answered. Riley just laid back. "Good. Now we can resolve this problem quickly AND quietly. Cindy?" She looked over at him and flicked him off. "Oh how sweet. Well, you're going to the doctor, Riley is going as well, Granddad is going to take you, and I'm going to have my day with Jazmine even if it kills me. Any questions?" Riley raised his hand. "Yes?"

"Are you going to fuck her tomorrow?" Riley asked, making himself laugh. Huey got the horn and blew it in his face. "Ah! Fuck nigga, you want me to go deaf!"

* * *

><p>Huey opened the door and went inside after he let Jazmine in. Today, it happened to snow ferociously when they got on the bus today. As soon as they stepped off the warm bus, frigid cold air smacked them both in face and the snow blinded them until they reached the front door. Huey went to the thermostat and turned the heater on high. He felt the air almost immediately. Jazmine peeled off every layer she had, leaving her shirt and jeans. She put her heavy coat on the rack, and went upstairs to Huey's room. He was about to follow her, but the home phone rang.<p>

"Hello?" Huey answered the phone.

"_Huey, did you make it okay? I know it's snowing kind of hard out there,_" Granddad asked.

"Yeah, we're okay. By the way, Jazmine had to come over here. Her dad isn't home," Huey told him. It was probably easier to tell him now than not and face the consequences. It was quiet on the other line. "Granddad, we're not going to do anything." Huey reassured him.

"_Alright, but if she ends up like Cindy, I'm beating yo ass._" Granddad added before hanging up the phone.

"Huey!" Jazmine yelled from upstairs. Huey hung up the phone, and walked to the stairs. He found Jazmine at the top, wearing only his Chicago Bears sweatshirt. She bit her lip. "I think I really like this shirt," she said, striking various poses in the shirt. He walked up the steps and grabbed her by waist, pulling her closer.

"I like you in the shirt, too," he said smoothly. She giggled and it made him even more crazy about her. He leaned in for a kiss but she turned and ran away to his room, giggling more. He ran after her, and reached his door, closed and locked. He knocked on the door. "Jazmine?" he said.

She opened the door and blinked. "You can't be here! My boyfriend will be here soon!" she cried. "He's really strong and sexy. Plus he carries katanas and Chinese throwing stars with him at all times." she said, pulling down her shirt.

He smirked and picked her up. He gave her a kiss and looked into her emerald eyes. "Well, I'll take him on. He's going have to go through me if he wants you."

She gave him another kiss. "I don't know. He's pretty crazy about me."

"So am I."

He pinned her to the wall and kissed her again. She wrapped her legs around his waist. She giggled when Huey left a trail of kisses from her forehead to her neck. He sucked on her neck, which she was sure was going to leave a hickey tomorrow. She pulled his shirt over his head. She smiled.

"Hey, your boyfriend told me you give good head," he said in a low, sultry tone. She blinked at his bluntness, never hearing anything of that nature come out of his mouth. When it came to sex or love or feelings, he would never outwardly say it; he would hint to it. He made him seem… sexier.

"Hmm… I don't know if you can handle it. He barely can," she said in the same tone.

He got close to her ear. "Try me," he whispered. She shivered at his warm breath, as if was freezing cold. He carried her to the bed. He sat down, then laid down as Jazmine did the deed.

"Ready?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said, barely audible. She looked down at his pants, first unbuckling his belt and unzipping his pants. She ripped off his boxers and before she knew it, she was going down on him. Huey hissed and moaned, his eyes closed. Even though she did this to him before, it was way better than before. He opened his eyes and looked at her, working on him like a pro. She took her mouth all the way off of him and licked from bottom to top over and over again.

"Fuck," he panted, his head hazily trying to form words. She quickly changed to her bobbing technique again, almost sending him over the edge too early. But he knew he coming to his top soon. "Jazmine, it's coming…" he couldn't even finish his complete thought. She still nodded, knowing exactly what he meant. He let go, and Jazmine, like the pro she was acting like, swallowed it all. She bit her lip and giggled, reverting back to the old Jazmine, not the freaky Jazmine he just witnessed.

"Was it good?" she said smiling.

"Your boyfriend is a lucky guy," he said breathing slowly.

She grinned and blushed. "Well, I'm a lucky girl." She got up and went to the bathroom, washing her mouth out with water and Listerine. She walked back into the room, to see Huey still on the bed, but sitting up. She sat down next to him, and saw he had a look in his eyes. "What?" she asked.

"Now it's my turn," he said, flipping her onto her back. He growled and got on top of her, making her giggle even more. He loved when she laughed. He started kissing her sensually. She opened her mouth, and he let his tongue slip in. She let him have dominance, and she was loving it. She felt his hand graze her hip, and reach all the way to her chest. He went under the underwire bra, and grabbed her breast, massaging it.

"Huey..." she slipped out when they were getting air. She felt a vibration under her back, and she realized she was laying on her jeans. She arched up and grabbed the pair of pants. Her phone slipped out of her pocket and landed on her stomach.

"Text from Cindy," Huey said, looking at the glowing phone. "Look at it, it could be important." As desperately as she didn't want to, she knew he was right.

_RECEIVED 3:56- Cindy McFearsome: We on the way, so whateva y'all doin needs to stop ASAP. Be there in 3 mins._

"Shit!" Jazmine yelled, sitting up.

"What?" Huey asked, confused on the situation.

"Your granddad will be here in three minutes!" she said, getting off the bed. She quickly took off the shirt and replaced it with her own. She redid the bun that sat on top of her head. She threw Huey his clothes that were lying near her. He said thanks in between a lot of expletives he was muttering. She heard the door unlocking as Huey opened the bedroom door. He jumped on the bed and opened his AP book as Jazmine got on the computer, and when Granddad came upstairs to check on them, they looked like they were the most innocent teenagers on the earth.

"Hi, Mr. Freeman!" Jazmine beamed from the computer. "How was the check-up for Cindy?"

"Good. Since we got there early and there was no one else, they let us go ahead and get it over with." Granddad said. He looked around and then turned around and went downstairs. The couple let out a sigh of relief.

"You're a good actress," Huey said, poking his head from his book. "I thought we were going to be caught for sure."

She turned the chair around to face him. "Well, I'm just so awesome that we couldn't be caught," she said, poking out her tongue. He rolled his eyes and went back to his book. She stretched and looked at her phone. She sighed and stood up. "I have to go," she said quietly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, my dad just texted me… you have to study anyways, silly!" Jazmine smiled. She went over to him, and gave him a long kiss, with her having to break it up. "Bye, Hubby." She whispered.

"Bye, Wifey," he answered, with a smirk on his face.

Jazmine left out the door. "Bye, dumbass!" she said to Riley as he walked by her. Riley pouted and walked into his room, sprawling out onto his bed.

"Yo girl is _mean_, Huey," he said muffled because his face was down in a pillow. He turned over and sighed, looking at his brother for a response. When Huey didn't do anything, he sighed again. He was about to sigh for a third time but Huey closed his book.

"What is on your mind, Riley?" Huey asked, slightly irritated.

"Oh, I wasn't bout to say nothing, but since you asked…" Riley sat up and looked at him. "I mean, I don't know how imma bout to handle this shit Huey. I mean, I'm only in the eighth grade! I can't do shit! Ain't nobody gon' hire me!"

Huey sighed. "Riley you have four people in this house that can help you. You're not alone. Stop acting like there isn't anyone in the world who hasn't had this situation. Maybe you can ask Granddad to do some chores for an allowance. Hell, you can take my chores. I'll pay you. Just because you can't get a real job, doesn't mean you can't work. Now can I go back to reading?" Riley nodded. "Thank you."

"Huey?" Riley said, getting up and walking out, stopping at the door frame.

"Yes?" he said, more annoyed.

"You still a bitch."


	11. Trouble Brewing in Woodcrest, part One

Chapter Eleven: Drama Brewing In Woodcrest, part One

The snow started falling late last night, covering Baltimore, Maryland and all its surrounding suburban neighborhoods, including Woodcrest, in a thick blanket of white show. And while he usually didn't care about basically anything, Huey liked the winter season. For one, the cool air reminded him of Chicago, his birthplace. Secondly, people were more sensible when it was colder. When it was hot, the heat would make people do crazy things. But most of all, he liked that everyone around him are generally happier during this. Not that he cares of course, but Granddad and Riley don't fight as much as they do in the summer, so he gets the peace and quiet he so desperately wants.

Not to mention, it's also Jazmine's favorite season, but who's pointing out technicalities?

It was the last day of midterm week and Huey sat in his seventh period class, which was photography, staring at the newspaper in front of him. The teacher's midterm was portfolio of the favorite pictures they had taken this year. The first hour was for presentations, and the next hour was free time. He sighed, seeing that there was still ten minutes left in class. Jazmine had to go finish her test for Chemistry, but that was an hour ago, and she should be coming back soon. And just as he had the thought go through his mind, Jazmine comes in the door, pass in hand. She sat down in her set next to Huey, and put her head on his shoulder.

"Whatcha reading?" Jazmine asked.

"What does it look like?" He replied while turning a page.

"I meant what is the article about, silly. I know it's a newspaper. Duh," she shot back, smiling. She lifted her head and looked at her phone. Three minutes to go. "Are you ready for school to be over? Because I am! Plus, my dad said I can get off punishment, so I can spend the week with you! There's sooooo many activities we can do next week, like ice skating, or we can go to the movies, or we can go to the mall..." As Jazmine kept listing off things to do, Huey groaned loudly, which made her stop. "What? Is there something wrong with the park?"

"No, it's just..." Huey started. He looked at her, her jade eyes brightly awaiting his response. Huey tried to find the words to tell her, but he as he opened his mouth to say something, the final bell rang to dismiss from school. Jazmine jumped from her seat and started to walk away. "Wait, where are you going?"

"I have to go get Cindy. She's coming over after school," Jazmine said, walking away. Great. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to tell her that he was going back to Chicago for about a week. He sighed and started to the bus. Hopefully he can tell her afterschool.

* * *

><p>Jazmine took Cindy to her house, unlocking the door quickly. They stepped in and the warm air hit them hard. They both sighed in relief, loving the heater that Tom left on at all times during the wintertime. Jazmine closed the door behind her, and Cindy made herself comfortable on the couch.<p>

"Girl, I'm hungry. You got any food?" Cindy asked, already turning on the TV and flipping through channels. "Ooh, the Real Housewives of Compton. This is my _show_!"

Jazmine skipped to her kitchen and opened the refrigerator wide. "What are you in the mood for, Cindy?"

Cindy put her finger on her chin. "How about… a peanut butter and tomatoes sandwich?" She wondered. Jazmine gave her a look. "And some hot sauce. That sounds sooo good right now." Cindy closed her eyes and licked her lips, already envisioning the disgusting concoction. Jazmine struggled not to gag, and made the sandwich. She put it on a plate and held it away from her body when she handed to Cindy. "Thank you, hun. I've been craving this all day."

"My pleasure," she said, holding her nose. When Cindy offered her a bite, she shook her head and walked away. She went to the fridge and got her a kiwi strawberry Snapple, her favorite flavor. She scooted Cindy over and shared the couch with her. She took a sip and started talking. "So how was the doctor yesterday?"

Cindy finished half of her sandwich and put the plate on the coffee table. She rolled her eyes and sighed, "Where do I start?"

Jazmine winced. "That bad?"

"Probably worse. So Mr. Freeman picked us up, right? So Riley automatically started bitching, full blown bitch rant. 'Ugh' Ugh, why couldn't this be during school, and why it gotta be all the way in the middle of nowhere?'' I was like, Riley, I DO NOT want to hear it, let's not start that. And then, he got all defensive. 'Man' Man, you always trying shut me up. Dang, I can't even speak my mind without you gettin on my case.'' I just rolled my eyes and stopped talking. Then he was saying 'Oh, now you on silent mode. You don't wanna talk to me anymore.' Then Mr. Freeman told Riley he was getting on last nerves and if he didn't shut up, he was gonna beat him."

Jazmine scoffed. "I bet that shut him up."

"Damn right it did! That nigga was on hush mouth, no joke. Anyways, while we were waiting on the doctor to ask us a bunch a questions–"

"Wait; was Mr. Freeman in there with you?"

"Nah, he left. So we were waiting on the doctor and Riley had the fucking nerve to text someone. I told him I know you ain't fucking talking to that bitch while you at the hospital with your fucking pregnant ex-girlfriend. He started running that damn mouth of his. 'Cindy, why you playin? I ain't texting nobody but Huey bitch ass.' And then I said Huey tryna get it in. He ain't mess with you when YOU were gettin it in. And then he wanna get all mad and smack his lips. 'Okay, Cindy.' and I was like Okay, Riley. Ugh, I can't _stand_ his ass!" Cindy pouted. She grabbed the second half of sandwich and started eating it.

"Cindy, you always say you can't stand him," Jazmine pointed out. "Even though everyone knows that still care."

"Who is this everyone and why they know my business?" she pouted. "It don't matter, because I really don't care no more."

"Then why did you get so mad at Riley for kissing another girl and me for knowing?"

"Why the questions always about me?" Cindy replied. "Let's talk about you and your boo, Miss Dubois, or should I say Mrs. _Freeman_?" she smirked. She took another bite of her sandwich. "How was your _alone time_ with Huey?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Jazmine blushed. "We didn't do anything..."

"You are such a liar!" Cindy joked. "Yo face so red right now! Y'all did something yesterday, and it wasn't studying, like yo dad thinks. Come on now, I tell you everything that happened tween me and Riley!"

"Yeah, even if I didn't ask to know," Jazmine made a face.

"Don't play me, Dubois."

"Fine! We did… things." Jazmine said, searching for the words. Jazmine, coming from straight-laced Tom, didn't like to talk about anything relating to sex, even when she was forced to take Sex Ed last year. She almost started crying the first day when the teacher showed the class a video about it.

"_Things_? What kind of things?" Cindy asked. Cindy, on the other hand, came from a whorish mother, who openly talked about sex with her daughter since the age of 12. "You gotta give me more than that."

"Can we not talk about this?" Jazmine protested. She grabbed the pillow on the couch and covered her face, trying to hide the fact that she was blushing. "It makes me weird that we're talking about this."

Cindy pulled the pillow away from Jazmine's mouth. "Whatchu mean it makes you feel 'weird'? You like to do it, right?" Cindy asked. Jazmine blushed even harder. "Right, so that's a yes. If you like it so much, why can't you talk about it? I like sex and I talk about it all the time." Jazmine sighed and curled her legs to her chest. "Like, remember the time I told you me and Reezy did it at school?"

Jazmine, unfortunately, remember that story. Jazmine knew that Cindy was an open girl; she didn't spare any detail, much to Jazmine's protests, from any story. So why couldn't Jazmine open up like that?

"Okay fine. So we were there alone and I ran up ahead to switch into one of his shirts, right?"

"The nigga lets you wear his shirts? That is too cute. Reezy never let me wear his shirts," she replied rolling her eyes. "He said 'you could stretch them out.' My head ain't that big!" Jazmine blinked at her reaction. "Anyways, continue."

"Okay…" Jazmine said, continuing. She crossed her legs and scooted closer to Cindy. "We were role playing that we had this 'secret relationship'..."

"Y'all some freaks. Forreal."

"I'm not going to finish if you keep interrupting me," Jazmine scolded her. Cindy pretended that she zipped her lips and threw away the key. "So we started really getting into it, and it started to get really intimate and he says, in the sexiest voice ever–" Just then, Tom unlocks and walks through the front door. Jazmine turns to her dad and back at Cindy. "He says... 'We should work on French.' And we did. The end," she chuckled nervously. "Hi, Daddy!" She squeaked out.

"Hi honey," he said, putting his briefcase on the kitchen table. "Hello, Cindy."

"Aye, Mr. D. What's good? Still sending dumbass niggas to jail?" Cindy replied.

Tom laughed heartily and sighed. "Yeah, I guess I am."

"Daddy, can Cindy stay over this weekend?" Jazmine asked, cleaning up the plate and the finished bottle of Snapple from the coffee table. "Please?"

"Is your mother okay with you staying here?" Tom asked. Cindy looked at Jazmine, who shrugged her shoulders. "Do you need me to call her to tell her where you are?"

Cindy quickly shook her head. "That's okay, Mr. D. She already knows I'm over here." Tom smiled and went upstairs to his room. Cindy slapped Jazmine on the arm. "You ain't tell yo dad I'm staying over at the Freeman's?"

"I'm sorry, did you want me to tell me after he was yelling at me or before my mom left?" Jazmine snapped back. Cindy closed her mouth. "I don't know, I guess it never came up. It doesn't matter; he doesn't really need to know."

Cindy shrugged. "I guess you right." She turned to face the TV now. "So whatchu gonna do next week all by yourself?"

Jazmine turned towards Cindy. "What do you mean 'all by myself'?"

Cindy looked at Jazmine. "You mean he didn't tell you?" Cindy asked. Jazmine shook her head no. Cindy faced the TV again. "Ooh, you need to go talk to your man then. He ain't telling you something. He ain't tell he ain't gonna be here next week. My bad girl." She heard sniffling coming from the girl, who seemed like she was going to cry. Cindy rolled her eyes. "Jazzy, you bet not cry," she warned.

She held her eyes tight and shook her head violently. "I'm not going to!" she yelled back. She wanted to run upstairs and be alone for a minute, but she felt as if that would be the baby thing to do. She was older, smarter, and not as sensitive. She opened her eyes and started watching TV. "Fuck him," she sighed.

"That's what I'm talking about. He fucked up, not you. So you should be mad," Cindy nodded. She was going to turn the channel when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it!" she announced. She walked to the door and opened it to see Huey standing there. Her smile dropped to a scowl. "And what do you want?"

Huey sighed. "Where is Jazmine?"

"She don't wanna talk to you, nigga."

"Cindy," Huey said, pinching the bridge between his eyes. "I honestly don't have time to play your stupid-ass little games. I need to tell her something right now."

Cindy scoffed. "Oh really? Were you gonna tell how you going back to the Chi on Tuesday and you ain't coming back till Saturday?" She folded her arms in front of her chest. "Believe me, she already knows. And you gotta a lot of _cojones_ coming up here acting like that. You piss me off," she smirked, using the words that he said to her a couple of days ago.

Huey closed his eyes and breathed in heavily. "Cindy…"

"Sorry Huey, I gotta go. Maybe if she isn't pissed off she'll call you tomorrow." She slammed the door in his face and turned on her heels. She sat back down and looked at Jazmine, who was glaring back at her. "What?"

"What was that for?"

"You said fuck him!" Cindy protested, throwing up her hands. "I thought you didn't want to see him!"

"I was just kidding!" Jazmine repeated in tone. "I didn't know he would actually show up to my house!" Jazmine grabbed her phone and started dialing numbers. "I'm calling him back." Cindy slapped the phone out of her hand, making the battery come out. "What the heck, Cindy?"

"Wait for a while! Let him sweat it out," she said. "We can do fun things together!"

"I can also do fun things with Huey…" Jazmine trailed off.

"Okay lil' freak. You ain't got Huey. You got me and we gonna do fun things, kay?" Cindy snapped.

Jazmine thought about for a minute, then nodded her head. "I guess you're right."

* * *

><p>"Nigga, is all you gonna do is sit in this damn bed all day?" Riley said, standing in the door frame of their shared room. It was a bright, sunny Saturday morning, despite the winter conditions and Huey was still in bed. Huey turned towards to Riley and flicked him off. "Classy, nigga."<p>

"What do you want me to do?"

Riley gasped. "Can't a nigga ask his own brother how he doin' without wanna get somethin in return?" He walked over to his bed and lied down. "That's a real low blow there, Huey."

Huey stood up in his bed. "You can ask how I'm doing all you want. But you asked me if I was going to be in bed all day, which makes me assume that you want me to get out of bed and do something, which is probably true," Huey explained. "Did you understand anything I said?"

"Nah, not really," Riley admitted. "But see, I wanted to go to the mall today, with Amani—"

"And that includes me how?" Huey asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Nigga, I'm getting to it!" Riley yelled. He exhaled sharply and started again. "Okay, so like I said… I wanted to go to the mall today with Amani, but Granddad said I ain't going—"

"Without me," Huey finished for him. He sighed. He didn't want to go to the mall today, or any day for that matter. He hated the mall, simply because he hated people and the commercialization of industries that made people want to buy the crap they had. And he hated that so many people were at the mall.

"Come on, Huey," Riley pleaded with him. "Do this one for me, please?"

"Fine, but the only reason is because I need to get something."

Riley quickly texted something on his phone and looked back at Huey. "Whateva, nigga. You need to get something for Jazzy since you fucked up." He jumped out of the way of the first pillow coming his way, but while was celebrating, Huey threw another pillow that hit him in the face. "Aye! Stop hating!"

* * *

><p>This was stupid.<p>

Normally she would be doing something productive, like talking to Huey or watching TV or messing with Huey or her homework, which was basically non-existent since school was out for winter break, or sleeping. Did she mention that he could be with her boyfriend Huey? In case she didn't, she could be doing that.

Because this was on the line between stupidity and idiocy.

When Cindy first offered to go to the mall, Jazmine couldn't possibly resist that offer. One, it was the mall, and two, it was Jazmine. But when Cindy picked out a dark, old trench coat (originating from her father's closet,) a hat (also from her father,) and sunglasses (nope, those pink and black Ray-Bans were hers,) when the sun was barely making its grand appearance, she should have known something was up.

But who cares? It was the _mall_.

Well, if Jazmine knew that Cindy was only dragging her to the mall to spy on a certain someone on a "date" with a certain hoe tramp that lived next that certain someone, she would have slammed her bedroom door in her face and got back into the bed. And this would _not_ be happening right now.

"Where are they?" Jazmine asked impatiently. They have probably been standing behind the information desk for the better half of the hour. It was almost noon, and Jazmine had seen neither Riley nor Amani. "I'm ready to go!"

"Shut the hell up!" Cindy hissed. She started off to the food court and sat at a table at Taco Bell, the food place across where Riley and Amani were sitting, laughing it up. Cindy growled under her voice when Amani made a loud laugh. Damn, this bitch was annoying.

"At least can we do some actual shopping? It's a darn shame we had to take _two_ buses, and I have to leave here empty handed…"

"I'll buy you something later!" Cindy snapped back. She straightened up when she saw Riley get up. "Right now, though, we on a mission," Cindy grabbed Jazmine's arm and pulled her to they were following Riley with a reasonable distance between them. They were passing many stores, most of which were Jazmine's favorites.

'Where does this girl shop at, Wal-Mart?' Jazmine thought to herself. She couldn't imagine passing up the stores Amani did. She assumed she was going to go back to them. And then she saw it. Her sanctuary, her heaven, her life. She had to stop dead in her tracks. "It's beautiful." Jazmine said in awe.

Forever 21.

She touched the glass wall, wanting to touch the black strapless dress that was displaying in the front of the store. She looked down at the posters under it. A sale? That just made everything better.

"Jazmine, no." she whipped her head to see Cindy tightening the grip on her arm, urging her to keep moving. "They're going into the Nike Store. It isn't far from here."

"But eight dollars…" she read, pointing at the sticker that was on the dress. "And… and _sale_…"

"We can come back to it later!" Cindy yanked Jazmine's arm and kept making her go farther into the building. Jazmine muttered something under her breath, which made Cindy turn towards her. "What did you say?" Jazmine shook her head. "Uh-huh. So they went inside there, so we'll go into—"

"I'm not going in."

Cindy blinked. "Whatchu mean you ain't goin' in?"

"I mean," Jazmine repeated. "I'm not going in. let me just sit outside and catch my breath. I'm tired. You woke me up at eight am on a damn Saturday. During winter break! That is unnatural!" Jazmine sighed. "Besides, I want nothing to do with your stalking anymore."

Cindy huffed. "Alright, but stay yo ass right here!" She turned around to go into the store, but faced back to Jazmine. "And you betta not go nowhere near that damn Forever 21 store, got it?"

Jazmine nodded and sat down on a bench in front of the store. She sighed and went to the bench behind it. She didn't want to see some stupid tennis shoe store. She saw a floral store that had all kinds of flowers and sat in front of that. She smiled, seeing in the far corner her favorite flower, purple lilies. She sighed and wished she was getting them when the florist started gathering a dozen. Maybe she can convince Huey to get her some even though "they aren't permanent; they'll just wither and die" as he so put it. Maybe if she gave up the charade of being fake angry…

And then she saw it. That bushy afro that she knew so well. He was getting the bouquet of flowers. But why? He hated flowers. So they must be for someone else. But who? Then, finally putting two and two together, she realized that the flowers for her. She assumed this was his way to make it up to her. Good, she was tired of being fake angry.

As he started to leave the store, she decided to go inside the Nike Store and stay with Cindy and not run into Huey. As she was getting up, she didn't notice the toy car some bratty kid left on the floor, so she tripped over it, sprawling forward and grabbing the shirt of the first person that walked in front of her.

"Whoa! You okay?" the person asked, laughing. The voice was oddly familiar to Jazmine. She looked up at the person she was holding on to dear life to.

"Rashad," she meekly said. Great. As if her day wasn't bad enough… she had to run into him. Rashad cocked his head to the side and took off the glasses that were covering half her face. She blushed. "Hi."

"Jazmine?" he said in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

She let go of his shirt and smoothed out where her hands clasped on the fabric. "Oh you know, trying not to die," she said, blowing off her near fall.

Rashad laughed again. "Yeah, you should be more careful." Jazmine shrugged; Huey told her this all the time. He lifted her chin with his finger. "You could get hurt, and none of us really wants that to happen, do we?" Jazmine shook her head quickly. He put down his hand and walked away "Take care, Jazmine."

"Bye!" she called out to him. She was about to turn around to go to her original destination when…

"Jazmine." She heard a voice say. She rolled her eyes and turned around to see Huey standing in front of her, flowers in his hand. He looked as if he didn't want to be at the mall right now, as if he had better things to do.

"Huey," she returned back to him in the same tone. She remembered the things Cindy told her to make him say sorry first. One, she had to make sure she didn't crack first. Secondly, act like you don't care… about anything. Three… well she forgot what three was, but one and two were the important ones. "Nice to see you here."

"Likewise," he said back to her. "I didn't know Tom let you out of the dungeon for a day."

"My father's in Baltimore for a couple of meetings," Jazmine shrugged. "He won't be back until really late. I would invite my boyfriend over but he's kinda being a jerk face. It's a shame too. He would've got _the business_." She smirked as she watched the grip on the bouquet of flowers tightened. She finally remembered that point three was to beat him at his own game, which was sarcasm and witty remarks. She has obviously been hanging out with him too much. "What are the flowers for?"

"Oh these?" Huey looked down at the flowers. "Yeah, they were for my girlfriend, but she got mad at me for no reason. Plus, she had her best friend talk to me, even though she has her own brain and can talk for herself. Then, just today, I saw her hugging up to another dude, even after I told her how much I hate that stupid-ass nigga."

"I wasn't hugging him!" Jazmine defended.

Huey shrugged as he looked at the flowers again. "Oh well, I'll just give them to someone else who deserves it. Like maybe Clarissa…" he was about to turn away from her, letting Jazmine sit in what he said. She must have forgotten that he was still better at comebacks than her.

He heard her sniffle, and he glanced over his shoulder to see her about to cry. "Fuck," he muttered under his breath. He forgot how sensitive she was. "Jazmine don't cry." He shoved the flowers in front of her. "Look, here. I'm sorry. Just don't cry. Please." He hated to see her cry, even though he was usually the reason she cried when they were younger.

She grabbed the flowers and smiled. "Thank you!" She smelled the flowers. They were fresh and smelled really good.

Huey blinked and a frown started to form on his face. "You… you tricked me… didn't you?" Jazmine smiled wider and batted her eyelashes. "Oh you… you are the worst." She scooted closer to Huey. He put his arm around her. "So, Tom's gone huh? You still going to give me '_the business_'?" he put air quotes around the last words.

She laughed. "Sorry, I have to babysit a fifteen year old pregnant girl," she sighed. "I would have definitely given you _the business_," she whispered into his ear. She bit her lip and looked at him. He smirked and went back to looking forward. She turned to see Riley leaving the Nike Store and saw Amani in tow, carrying a shopping bag. "You came with Riley?"

"Yeah, he needs a damn babysitter, too. Granddad doesn't trust him anymore." Huey said. "I had to go." He also saw Cindy leaving the store, too, right behind him. "Don't tell me Cindy was following him. Is that why you too are dressed like private investigators?"

"Crap, she's going up to them," Jazmine groaned, closing her eyes and shaking her head. "This isn't going to end very well."


	12. Trouble Brewing in Woodcrest, part Two

**_A/N:_**_ I am so so so so so sorry for coming out with this late! I had a lot of things to do and blah blah blah, more excuses, and I finally got around to updating! Don't kill me you guys! Anyways, here's a new chapter!_

Chapter Twelve: Trouble Brewing in Woodcrest, part Two

"Cindy? The fuck are you doin' here?" Riley said, shocked that he would see his ex-girlfriend at the mall.

"Ain't that a nice ass greeting?" Cindy retorted, putting her hand on her hips. "I thought you would be just fucking ecstatic to see me!"

"Cindy, hi. How you doin?" he said sarcastically, but his face turn back serious.

"That's better."

"Now, what the fuck are you doing here?" he repeated. Cindy rolled her eyes. God, he could be so insensitive sometimes. "Wait, wait. Don't tell me. I think... that you're stalking me, ain't you?" Cindy eyes squinted in anger, or maybe they squinted because he found out.

"God Riley you're so full of yourself! I can't even deal with you. I ain't even allowed to go the mall without asking yo ass for permission?" Cindy snapped at him. Riley opened his mouth, and then almost immediately closed it.

"Reezy, who is this chick?" Amani asked, standing behind Riley. Riley waved her off as if he wanted her to drop the question. "Is this...? Oh..." Amani said, figuring out the identity of the yelling stranger.

"What the hell does that mean? I am Cindy Motherfuckin McPherson and I am the baby mama of Riley Freeman," she said smirking. "Nice to meet you. And you would be the hoe who is tryna get Riley. Am I right?"

Amani laughed and stepped from behind Riley. "Oh, that's cute. Trying to defend for him, when in fact, it was _you_," she pointed at Cindy in her face. "Who broke them up in the first place."

"Excuse me? Who is this chicken head tryna have a go at me?"

Jazmine turned towards Huey. "Huey, what's a chicken head?"

"A chicken head is a girl who comes from a poorer area of the city and is suffering from low self-esteem and compensates that by prostituting herself for short lived friendships or attention," Huey told her while still looking at the altercation.

"Chicken head? That's cute." Amani folded her arms across her chest. She stepped closer to Cindy, and talked softly but loud enough to where Jazmine and Huey can hear her. "I've heard all about you. And from what I heard, I don't really think you deserve Reezy," she shrugged.

"The fuck?" Cindy narrowed her eyes. "Bitch, you think you cute and funny but you don't fucking know me!" she yelled at Amani. She couldn't believe this... _bitch_ was trying to step to her. She knew that if this was a different setting, and a different situation with her not being pregnant, this chick would not have a chance.

"Oh really? Cindy McPherson, Freshman, goes to Woodcrest High, met Riley after a basketball game, didn't really become close friends until y'all did a fundraiser together..."

"How much did Riley tell her?" Jazmine whispered to Huey.

He shrugged. "I don't know, but it sounds like too much."

"Y'all started going out end of your eighth grade year, and y'all fucked by the end of the summer. In my opinion, you shoulda waited a little longer, 'cause you kinda sound like the chicken head, don't ya think? But anyways, things were going great until _you_," she pointed at Cindy again. "Decided to do something different and fuck another dude. And y'all had a big fucking argument and SURPRISE! Cindy's pregnant and claims Riley to be the dad. Have I covered all the bases, or no?"

By this time, Cindy was fuming. She wanted to jump this girl and rip out every track off of her stupid-ass head. How dare she? She didn't know how the fuck this girl knew everything about her (though she had a good idea on how,) but she did know that in 2.5 seconds, she will be on the floor.

"So you mad now?" Amani taunted her. "Figured. When people don't wanna go your way, you throw a bitch fit. You're probably thinking about ways you can hit me now. That's fine. Just know, that when that baby comes out, Riley better ask for a test, cause the way it sounds, it ain't the first time you cheated on him."

Jazmine blinked and stared at Cindy, who looked ready to strike at any time. It was one thing to talk about her, but to question her loyalty and faithfulness _and_ her baby? "Huey? Go get Cindy. This isn't going to end well." Huey nodded and started to walk.

Cindy closed her eyes and tried to count to ten, calming herself down. But every time she reached ten, she could only hear Amani's words repeating over and over in her head, pissing her off even more.

"Cindy, calm down, okay? Think about this. Don't do nothing stupid," Riley said, stepping in between the two girls. "It's okay, aight? We can all act like civilized–"

"Riley?" Cindy finally said. "Shut the fuck up." she breathed in heavily, and exhaled through her nose. She slowly walked forward and was going to hit Amani, but instead, Riley stepped in front of her and got hit. He fell on the ground, clutching his nose. She stepped over him screaming to inch closer to Amani, who was backing away slowly, knowing she can't actually retaliate and hit her. Amani turned around and started running in the opposite direction. Cindy was about to start after her but felt Huey grab her out of nowhere. "That's right bitch! You better fucking run, stupid hoe! Betta be glad Afro Nigga holding me back, 'cause you'd be fucking dead!"

"Are you done yet?" Huey asked, his arms still holding her back. He was annoyed that this trip to the mall went from decent to fucked up in the course of twenty minutes. Plus, his brother may have a broken nose. He sighed.

"Almost," Cindy replied. She kicked Riley in the back twice. "You shoulda let me hit her." She looked up at Huey. "Okay, you can drop me now." Huey obliged and let go of her. She straightened up and walked over to Jazmine. "You ready to go?" she asked her. Jazmine rolled her eyes and went towards Riley. "Jazmine, I'm ready to go home!" she whined.

"You can't go around hitting people all you want!" Jazmine yelled at her friend. She pulled tissues from her purse and pushed against Riley's nose. "Hold this, I'll be right back," she told him. She looked around and ran to the nearest bathroom. She ran back holding two tampons in her hand. "Here, put these in. It'll help with the bleeding."

Riley looked at her hands, and back at Jazmine. "Girl, is you crazy? I ain't stickin that up nothin! Real niggas don't do that shit," Riley said muffled.

"I'm pretty sure real niggas also don't get punched by girls," Huey pointed out.

"Shut up!" Riley yelled at his brother. "It was a lucky shot!"

Jazmine huffed and made Riley look at her. "Riley, if you don't put these in, you're going to bleed everywhere. Your shirt, your pants, and your shoes. And I'm pretty sure blood doesn't come out very well on Jordans, do they?" Riley thought about it for a second and nodded. "Okay, that's what I thought."

* * *

><p>When Granddad came to pick up his grandsons, he expected them to be in the same condition as he left them. Unfortunately, he was wrong. He pulled up to the Woodcrest Mall, and saw that Huey, Jazmine, and Cindy all looked fine, but Riley had blood all over his shirt and two… <em>tampons <em>stuck up his nose. What the hell happened to him?

"What's wrong with him?" Granddad asked, getting out of his car to assess the damage on Riley. "Did he try to take out Santa again?" He looked around the front door of the mall. "Where's the other little cutie pie?" Cindy scoffed and sat in the passenger seat of Dorothy. "What?"

"They kinda had a little… argument," Jazmine said, choosing her words carefully. "I don't think Amani is coming, Mr. Freeman."

"And what happened to him?" he repeated.

"He got in the way," Huey stated. Huey shrugged and grabbed Jazmine to follow him to the car. "He just doesn't learn," he muttered to himself.

Granddad shook his head and walked to the car.

"Dis some ole bullshit," Riley said to himself. He sucked his teeth and was the last person to get in the car. He sat next to Jazmine in the back seat. He looked down at his gray Polo, stained red. '_Well fuck. This is ruined,_' He thought. He wanted to scream and yell and more importantly, slap the hoe that fucked up his threads. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't do any of those things. He sighed and looked out the window.

"I'll buy you another Polo shirt, Riley." His ears perked up and he turned to face her. "Your shirt. It's basically no good anymore, so I'll get you another one."

"Forreal? Maybe even two?" Riley asked, slightly smiling. His favorite brand was Polo and he liked it even better when he was getting it for free.

"Don't press your luck," Huey told him.

"Don't be silly, Huey!" Jazmine smiled. "I can get you two!" Riley smiled and turned back to the window.

"Do you not know how much Polos cost?" Huey asked her.

"What, like 20 bucks each?" She said. Huey shook his head and turned to his window as well. "Are they _25 _dollars?"

* * *

><p>Jazmine stretched up in her bed and looked at her alarm clock. 11:37, Monday morning. And someone was ringing her doorbell? They obviously didn't know her well enough to know that she didn't wake up until noon. She rubbed her eyes and got out the bed. She grabbed her phone from her nightstand and walked down the stairs.<p>

"I'm coming!" she yelled to the person outside the house. She opened the door to feel a large gust of cold wind come towards her. "Jesus!" she said, closing the door in the person's face. She giggled when she heard Huey sigh. "Sorry!" she opened the door, hiding behind it when he walked in.

"Good morning," he said sarcastically. He looked her up and down and lifted his eyebrow. "Do you always answer the door half-naked or is that just for me?"

Jazmine looked down at her pajamas, a tank top and short-shorts. "I just woke up," she admitted to him. He gave her another look. "What? You know I don't wake up until really late."

"Yeah, I know, even though I texted you that I was coming over," he said, taking off his coat. She unlocked her phone to see... two unread texts from Hubby. She must've really been knocked out. He glanced around the house, noting it was pretty quiet. "Dad's at work?"

Jazmine nodded. "I guess. He probably had to go do paperwork for one of his cases." She went and sat on the couch. "What are we gonna do on your last day in Woodcrest?" she smiled.

He rolled his eyes. "You act like I'm not coming back," he said, sitting next to her. "It's only going to be four days, not four years."

Jazmine put her feet in his lap. "I know. I'm still going to miss you." She played with her hair, avoiding his look, as if it'll make her cry. "So what do you want to do, like I asked earlier?" she said, changing the subject.

Huey shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, I thought you had something planned. That's what you said last time, right?"

Jazmine thought about it for a second, then snapped her fingers and ran upstairs. She came back down yielding a pink notebook. She opened the notebook and flipped through several pages before reaching her destination. "Monday: Movie Day," she read off the page. "Then after that it's a list of movies. I want to watch _The Notebook_, _Titanic_, _500 Days of Summer_—"

"Do you have a movie on there that isn't unbelievably bad?" Huey complained.

"What are you talking about?" Jazmine looked at her list. "These are all great movies! _The Notebook_ was so beautiful! I cried during that scene when they did the kiss… it was perfect writing," she turned her head to the side and sighed dreamily.

"Perfect?" Huey scoffed. "Far from it, actually. Now if we were talking about _Do the Right Thing_…"

Jazmine shook her head at the idea. "Uh-uh. We're not watching that again! It made me sad, and not in the good way, either."

"It showed you the way racial tension are in other cities and how the police still treated black people, and this was _way_ before Rodney King—"

Jazmine grabbed his face and turned him to face her. She gave him a quick peck on the lips and a gentle, longer kiss next. "Are you done?" she asked him, blinking her bright jade eyes and smiling. He nodded quickly. "Good. Can we watch _The Notebook_ now?"

Huey frowned. "No."

"Huey..." she whined. She sat in his lap and nuzzled into his neck. "Pwease?" she said in her child-like voice. Huey sighed. He hated when she used her baby voice on him, mainly because he and she knew he couldn't resist it.

Huey tried to fight the urge to say yes. "For the last time, I'm not watching that shit," he said unconvincingly. She pulled herself away from him. She blinked a couple of times and gave him a pouty lip. He rolled his eyes. "Does that work on other people?"

Jazmine shrugged. "Usually."

"I'm not other people, Jazmine," he smirked as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "One day you're going to realize your little girly moves don't work on me."

"Oh really?" she said, giving him a look. "You can resist my _womanly charms_?" she put her hand on her hip.

"Didn't we already establish this a while ago?" Huey wondered. He looked up into her shining jade eyes, which were for some reason, very glossy and made them look prettier than they already were. Her cheeks were a slight tint of rosy pink, and her smile... God, her smile. It would and could make anyone just go crazy, even hard Huey. He knew he didn't deserve her; no one did. But especially him. He was such an asshole to her when they were younger, telling her things her young naïve mind didn't need to know at the time. Even after all that, even after all the things he did to her, she still picked him. He was one lucky asshole.

"What?" Jazmine said, snapping him out of his thoughts. "Is there something in my teeth?" she smiled big to show all her front teeth. Huey half-chuckled and shook his head. "Then what?"

"I don't tell you this often, but you're really beautiful," Huey said as he looked in his lap. She wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled and bit her lip. That was another thing that drove him crazy: her lip biting. Her little nervous quips that only annoyed her were the cutest things to him. He wanted her. Now. "Jazmine? I kinda don't want to watch a movie anymore."

Jazmine wrinkled her nose. "You don't want to watch a movie? Then what do you want to do?" she asked. She looked at him roll his eyes. "Oh!" she said loudly as she finally got it. A blush crept over her face as she _really_ understood what he wanted to do. "Oh..." She got up from her spot on him, and walked to the stairs. She turned around and ordered him over there with her finger while going up the stairs. He happy followed her request and ascended the stairs.

* * *

><p>Cindy finally finished packing the last bag to go to her aunt's house on the other side of town while the Freemans went to Chicago. She didn't understand why she couldn't just stay at Jazmine's house while they were away, but her dad insisted that his sister wanted to see and talk to her and she didn't really complain; her cousins were some pretty awesome girls.<p>

She got off the bed and walked to the door. She placed her socked foot on the wooden floor, almost losing her balance. She started to "skate" a little more in the hallway and soon she was doing figure skating and ballet moves that she remembered from eight years ago when her mother wanted her to be more girly.

"Nice moves, Black Swan," Riley snickered, looking from his door frame. She saw him and stopped instantly, scratching the back of her head. "Don't stop now, Ballerina. It was just getting' good," he smirked.

"Shut up, Riley," she blushed. He shrugged and turned back around to his room. "Hey, Riley?" she squeaked out. She coughed and cleared her throat because it sounded so foreign to her.

"Yeah?"

"What… time are we leaving the house tomorrow?" she asked him.

"I don't really know, Cin. I think the plane leaves at like, 12-something. So we probably leaving at like 9 or 10," Riley estimated. He looked at Cindy's face. "But I don't know for sure."

"Oh," Cindy said. She stood there awkwardly for a minute, while looked deep in thought, something she has never seen him in. "Well, I should go back—" she started leaving to her room.

"How come you never talk about her?" Riley asked, still thinking. "Your aunt, I mean," he clarified after seeing a confused look on her face.

Cindy shrugged her shoulders. "I don't seem them very often. Probably two times a year. I never know what's up with them or anything 'cause my moms didn't really like my aunt," she thought carefully. "Or any of my dad's side of the family, for that matter." She tapped on her chin. "I think my moms hates everyone."

Riley laughed. "So that's where you get that from."

Cindy pouted. "I don't hate everyone!"

"Uh-huh. Well you hated me enough to give me this," he retorted, pointing at his bandaged nose. She winced and moved a little closer to him.

"Does it hurt, Reez?" she whispered to him, wanting to touch his nose. He slapped her hand away. "I guess that means yes," she scoffed, giving him a small smile.

"Hell yeah, it's still hurtin', girl!" he joked with her. "Shit, you givin a nigga a right hand like that, shit, imma be hurtin for a little while, ya feel me? That was some Mayweather shit right there!" he said.

"Boy! That betta not be you doin all that damn cursing in this house!"

"Naw Granddad! That was the TV, not me!" he yelled to his elder. He rolled his eyes after, which made Cindy stifle a laugh. "Man, I gotta finish packing... unless you wanna watch..." Riley joked. Cindy rolled her eyes and shook her head no. "Aight then." He turned to back to his room.

"Hey, Riley?" Cindy asked him. Riley turned to face her. "I'm really sorry for punching you and making you angry and anything I ever did to you!" she told him with tears in her eyes. She gave him a big hug.

"Are you like hormonal or something?" he asked her while she was still hanging on him. "Cause you ain't never been this touchy-feely."

Cindy let go and gave him a look. "What I can't give a hug no more?" she put her hand on her hip.

"Yeah, that's the C-Murph I know," he smirked, giving her a slight punch on the shoulder. He turned around to go back into his room, but stopped when he heard her say something. "What you say?" Cindy stood on her tip toes and gave him a small kiss. She pulled back and immediately blushed after seeing the shocked look on his face.

"I'm sorry, that was uncalled for," she shook her head, trying to rid herself of her embarrassment. She was about to hide her head in shame in her room when Riley grabbed her arm and gave her a more powerful kiss. She returned it, giving in to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. She pulled away again, and stared at him. "Um…"

"I love you. And don't ever forget it, okay?" he pulled away from her and closed his door. She stood there for a minute before going back to her room. What did that mean? Was it secret for something? Why did he do that shit? She needed to lie down for a minute. Her head was hurting.

* * *

><p>Jazmine eyes fluttered open as she woke up in her bed. She smiled and rolled over to get close to Huey, but he wasn't next to her. She blinked then rose out the bed. She looked around and was met with no one else in the room. She huffed and got out the bed, putting on her clothes that were throughout her room. She opened the door, peeked out of it and started walking to the stairs. As she was going down, she was met with Huey going up.<p>

"Nice of you to finally wake up," he said sarcastically, picking a grape from his bowl and popping one in his mouth.

"Maybe if you didn't put me to sleep..." she trailed off, smiling. She took the bowl from his hands and ate his grapes. "It wouldn't be a problem, now would it?"

He grabbed the bowl back from her. "Oh, so it's my fault now, isn't it?" he asked her. She nodded her head and tried to get the bowl back, but Huey held it over his head. "But I remember a certain someone using her choir voice on me, going so high I thought dogs were going start barking," he smirked, putting his finger on his chin as he "thought." Jazmine face turned from rosy to deep red in two seconds. "Couldn't all that 'singing' make you sleepy?"

Jazmine slapped him in the chest. "Whatever. Go put in a movie," she told him, going into her room. "I'll be down in a second."

Huey went down the stairs, and to the living room, where the movie selection was. Most of the movies were terrible, and Huey would rather watch Bush talk about meat for two hours than watch _Mean Girls_. He finally saw _Final Destination_ and deemed it watchable. He sighed and put the movie in the DVD player.

"Did you pick a movie?" Jazmine asked, coming down wrapped in a big blanket. Huey nodded and gestured to the screen. She looked at it to see what movie was playing. "Huey, you know I don't like scary movies," she pouted. "Can't we watch a nice romantic movie, please?"

"I'm pretty sure you asked me what I wanted to watch, right? Well, I want to watch this," he retorted. She had a face that looked like she was going to start crying. "Don't be scared, Jazmine. It's not even as bad as you think, okay?"

"You promise?" she sniffed, sitting next to him and draping the blanket over his legs.

"I promise."

* * *

><p>"You said it wasn't as bad as I thought!"<p>

Almost an hour into the movie, Jazmine had her face buried into Huey's shoulder blade. This movie was worse than when they saw _Friday the Thirteenth_ the day before she went to camp when she was 14.

"It isn't!" Huey told her. "It isn't a slasher movie, so you can't dream of someone coming to get you."

"But it's Death!" Jazmine poked her head up. "They're dying because Death wants them. You can't avoid Death, Huey!" Jazmine put her head back on his shoulder. "Call me when it's over."

He rolled his eyes and looked back at the screen. He smirked as his favorite part was coming up. "Hey Jazmine? The bad part is over."

She turned towards the TV. "Really?" She watched on the screen as the group tried to escape the car about to get hit by a train. She let out a sigh of relief as they made it safely. Then, in an instant, she watched in horror as a man was decapitated. She screamed and ducked under the blanket. "You lied! I hate you!"

Huey held in his laughter. "I'm sorry, but I couldn't miss that opportunity." Jazmine punched him in his thigh. "Easy!" he winced in pain. "I'm sensitive."

Jazmine poked her head out. "You should have thought about that before you tricked me," she said, poking at his chest. She covered her head again. "I'll be out when it's over." She laid her head in his lap. He looked down at her and curled a lock of her hair. "You're still a jerk." she pouted.

He sighed. "I'm sorry." He pulled the blanket from her head, but a lightning flash from the movie made her pull it back over head. "Jazmine!" he yelled. He smirked. "While you're down there, you want to go for round two?" He heard her giggle. "Is that a yes?" The door unlocked and opened, showing a tired Tom Dubois. He felt his face redden. "Hey Tom. Um... how are you?"

He gave Huey a look. "Huey." Tom looked around the room. "Where is my daughter?"

Jazmine poked her head from under the blanket. "Hi Daddy," she squeaked out. "Okay, I know how bad this looks, but it's not what it looks like, I promise. See, we were watching a scary movie–"

"_Final Destination_. Great movie by the way."

"Right. We were watching _Final Destination_ and a really scary part came on and you know how I am about scary movies in the first place and I panicked and ducked under the covers. I don't even know why we were watching it. Anyways, the movie's over and Huey was just leaving, weren't you Huey?" She spoke so fast that Huey didn't catch the end until after he processed it.

"Uh, yeah. I was," he added, getting up from his spot. He walked with Jazmine to the front door and put on his coat. "Umm..." he started to say. Jazmine giggled. "What?"

"You're the most awkward person I know," she smiled.

"And you're the bubbliest person I know," he retorted. He gave her a kiss on the forehead and walked to his house. He opened the door and said hello to his grandfather and proceeded to walk up the stairs. He wasn't paying attention to where he was going, so when he was going into his room, he ran right into his brother.

"Oh my bad bro," Riley said to him, looking up. He brushed off his shirt and then Huey's.

"Nah, it's cool," his brother replied, shaking it off.

Riley's eyes lowered. "What the hell are you so damn happy about? You ain't never said anything is cool between us," he asked suspiciously.

"I'm sorry I thought a meaningless accident was miniscule. That was my mistake," he rolled his eyes. He went over to his bed and laid down, grabbing a book from his nightstand and opening it to a page.

"So," Riley started, turning around and sitting on his own bed. "I bet… the reason why you so happy is because you got some pussy today."

"Riley…" Huey sighed, putting his book down.

"Oh, I see. That's what it is," Riley smiled. "See? I knew it all along. Through all yo' hard, pissed-off-at-the-world exterior, there be a human being up in there. And _I _knew that it would Jazzy Fresh would break that. Mmhmm. As soon as a nigga gets pussy, they ain't mad at the world no more," Riley stated. "Wise words by Reezy Freeman. I copyright that shit."

"Riley, your logic is stupid," Huey said. He looked over at him and shook his head. "Just because I have had sex before, doesn't mean my… wait, why am I discussing this with you?" He looked back to his book and opened the page. He felt his phone vibrate and he looked at it. Riley watched him as he opened the text and… _smiled_. Well, it wasn't an actual smile, but like a half-smirk thing that only a few people would categorize as a smile. Riley was one of those people.

"Nigga, you just smiled!" Riley pointed out. He jumped up and got closer to his brother. "Yep, I knew it. A text from Jazmine. You definitely got it in, since you don't smile."

"If I tell if I had sex, will you shut up about it?" Huey said, slightly annoyed. He just wanted to get to his book, was that too much to ask for? Apparently it was.

"Yeah, sure."

"Fine. Jazmine and I…" he started. "had sex today. There, happy?"

"Yes. Very," he said quietly. He got off his bed and left the room. Huey finally got peace and tranquility in his room. He opened his book again, and started to read.

"Hey Cindy! Guess what I heard!" he heard Riley yell.


	13. Merry Freaking Christmas

Chapter Thirteen: Merry Freaking Christmas

It had been four days. Four long, agonizing, horrible days without him. She didn't want to sound needy, but damn. It was hard without her boyfriend. They were going to meet up tonight, and all she had to do was sneak out of the house. She waited for her dad to come and do his normal routine check on her at 11:30. And as soon as she heard the door close and lock, she jumped out of bed, already dressed, and grabbed the makeshift rope she constructed earlier in the day. And after a few failed attempts, and a few cuts and bruises to show for it, she finally made the right rope to support her weight. She took a deep breath and tied it to her bed and left out the window.

"This is actually working!" she whispered out loud. As she thought about how inventive she was for making it, the sheet she was holding on to ripped, sending a startled Jazmine tumbling to the ground. "Shoot!" she yelled, then immediately covered her mouth. She looked up her father's window to see if he woke up. He didn't. She let out a sigh of relief and ran towards their hill.

In ten minutes, she was running up the hill, hoping to see him looking out at Woodcrest, but she was sadly disappointed to find no one there. "Huey?" she called out. She looked around the tree and down the hill, but there was no sign of him. She slid down and sat with her back to the tree and looked at her watch. She was five minutes early from midnight, the time they scheduled, and decided that she would stay until 12:15. She closed her eyes and waited for her boyfriend.

"Jazmine?" she heard a voice say. Her eyes fluttered open to see Huey standing in front of her. He helped her up and she yawned. "How long have you been sleeping here?" She looked at her watch and her eyes widened. 1:25. She had been asleep for an hour and a half. She slapped him on his arm. "What was that for?" he winced.

"You jerk! You had me out here for since 11:45! I could have caught a cold!" she yelled at him. She turned around and crossed her arms. Great. She'd only seen him for two minutes and already she was fighting with him.

"What are you talking about? It's only 12:25. Granted, I am twenty-five minutes late but how were you out here for an hour and a half?" he wondered, looking down at his phone.

"Check your watch, stupid."

"I'm not wearing my watch. It was in a different time zone… as… Chicago…" he looked back at his phone and then looked at Jazmine's wrist. He was a whole hour behind in the Central Time Zone. "Aw, shit. I thought my phone is supposed to change automatically! Stupid piece of shit," he yelled, smacking his phone to his palm.

Jazmine turned back towards Huey. "Maybe because your phone is as old as you are," she said, smiling. "You should get a new one."

He put his phone back in his pocket and wiped his face. "I'm so sorry, Jazmine. I didn't know. Do you forgive me?" he asked, stepping closer to her. She shook her head no, although she had a smile on her face. "No? Then I'm going to have to make it up to you, don't I?" he said with a smirk on his face. He grabbed her waist and pulled her even closer to him. He gave her little pecks all over her neck. "Do you forgive me now?"

"No…" she said at first, but then quickly changed her mind when Huey started sucking on her neck. "Okay, yes. Yes I do," she moaned. He looked at her and she smiled. "You're gonna give me a hickey, Mr. Freeman. How am I going to explain that to my dad?"

"Tell him I gave it to you. See how much he freaks."

Jazmine giggled and looked back at Huey. She glanced at his lips and saw a small cut on the bottom one. She grabbed his face and got a better look. "Oh my God, Huey!" she said. "What happened to your lip?"

Huey pulled away. "I don't want to talk about it." He closed his eyes and tried to block out how he got the cut. He felt two soft kisses on the cut and opened his eyes.

"I hope it makes it feel better," she said, biting her lip. He nodded and returned the kiss on the lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss, opening her mouth to let his tongue enter. After a while, she broke away to breathe, and she looked in his maroon pools. "It's 2 am, Huey," she said solemnly. He shrugged and went in for another kiss. "Stop it, silly! I have to go home," she giggled.

"Fine, if you say so. I'll take you home," he said, sighing. She wrapped her arms around his arm and walked down the hill. They walked in silence for a while, and then Jazmine broke it.

"I really missed you, Huey."

He looked down at her. "I missed you too, Jazmine. Next time, you should come to Chicago with us. I bet you'll like it."

She grabbed his arm tighter as they turned onto Timid Deer Lane. "I would love to go with you." They made it to her house and carefully snuck into the backyard. Huey saw the blanket rope she made and raised his eyebrows. "Don't judge me. I had to get out somehow. Here, boost me up." Huey shook his head and interlocked his fingers for Jazmine to put her foot in. She placed her foot in his hands and he pulled her up. She grabbed the ripped part of the sheet and started climbing up. She shimmied into the window and blew a kiss out to Huey as he ran to his own house. She undressed and went to her bathroom to put her hair up. When she finished, she looked at her neck and looked at the newly formed hickey from Huey. Oh yeah, she was going to have to put cover up over _that_ for a while.

* * *

><p>Jazmine went downstairs at around ten o'clock after she slept for eight hours after coming home. She went into the kitchen, and smiled at her dad, who was enjoying a cup of coffee and the Sunday newspaper. "Morning, Daddy!" she beamed at him. "Merry Christmas!"<p>

"And Merry Christmas to you too," he replied, setting down the newspaper. He turned around in his seat. "You know, I think old Santa Claus left you a present last night."

Jazmine laughed. "Come on dad. I still don't believe in Santa. I'm sixteen years old. I'm growing up and am wiser than I was when I was 10." She pulled out a bowl and the box of Lucky Charms. "Even though I eat like I'm ten."

Tom turned back in his seat and shrugged. "Well, I guess you don't want to see what he left you on the driveway."

She turned her head around quickly. "The driveway?" she repeated. Tom nodded his head. Jazmine blinked. She dropped everything, almost literally, and ran outside. She went out on her driveway to see a silver car sitting there with a red bow on top. "Oh my God!" she screamed.

"A 2008 Toyota Corolla with 6,000 miles on it. I think I picked out a good one." her dad remarked. Jazmine looked at him and ran into his arms. He picked her up and gave her a kiss. She jumped back out and went back to her car. It was so beautiful; she started having tears in her eyes. Her dad tossed the keys to her. She opened her car and sat in the driver's seat. She couldn't believe this was _her_ car.

"Oh my God!" she said again in awe. She didn't know any other phrase that could possibly describe her excitement at the moment. "Thank you Daddy!" she yelled at him. She got out of the car and gave him another hug and kiss.

"Why don't you take it for a test run?" her dad suggested. She nodded and ran upstairs to go get her wallet. She came back downstairs gleaming. "Be back in time to get ready to go the Freeman's house at seven." her dad said from the kitchen. She nodded and headed outside to her car.

_SENT 10:12: Baby Jazzy- Wake your lazy butt up and come outside!_

Jazmine giggled at her text and drove to Huey's house. She waited as he came outside and saw her car. He rubbed his eyes and looked into the passenger window and saw Jazmine smiling at him. She unlocked the door and he sat down in awe.

"This is your car?" he asked, looking around. "Can you drive it?"

"Yes and yes," she replied, backing out of the driveway. She headed towards downtown Woodcrest. "So… where should we go right now?" she asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. "How about… Starbucks? I could go for a Frap right now." He nodded as Jazmine drove to the coffeehouse. She parked in front of the building and walked inside hand-in-hand with Huey.

"Hi! May I help you?" the eager barista asked.

"Uh yeah, let me get a grande Original Blend, black and a muffin." Huey told the cashier. He turned to Jazmine. "Jazmine, what do you want?" Huey asked her.

"I don't know. Order for me," she said.

Huey rolled his eyes. "And another Original Blend coffee."

Jazmine popped her head up. "I don't want that!"

"You told me to order for you!"

Jazmine pouted. "Yeah, something sweet like a Frappuccino, not just black coffee. I thought you would know me better than to get something gross like black coffee."

"Um..." the barista tried to intervene.

"And can I read your damn mind?" Huey snapped. "How am I supposed to know that?"

"Because you're my freaking boyfriend! And I said it earlier I wanted a Frap and not disgusting regular coffee."

"Umm… guys…"

Huey rolled his eyes again. "Then why would you ask me to order for you if you already had something in mind? That's stupid, Jazmine."

Jazmine scoffed and dropped her hand from his. "I was _trying_ to be cute and let you order for me since I said in the car what I wanted and I thought you were paying attention, but apparently you weren't so..."

The barista cleared her throat and started again. "Excuse me..."

Jazmine and Huey turned their head towards the girl. "_What?_" They barked at the poor girl.

The girl blinked and looked at them, very terrified of the couple. "W-we have other c-customers, so if you c-could—"

"I want a grande Mocha Frappuccino with extra whip." she told the barista. She turned to Huey. "Remember that for next time or at least listen to me, jerk." She turned on heel and walked to a table.

"Yeah, I'll remember to never order for you again," he muttered under his breath as he paid the cashier. He went and sat down at the same table as Jazmine, who turned away to not face him. "You know you're going to crack first," he told her knowingly.

"Are you gonna say sorry?" Jazmine asked him, turning in her chair to face him.

"No."

"Then don't talk to me, Freeman," she retorted.

Huey shrugged and faced the counter. When they called his order, he got the drinks and started to walk out of the store. Jazmine tried to get her drink, but Huey put it out of her reach. "Ah-ah. You said you don't want to talk to me," he said smirking. He left the coffeehouse, followed by Jazmine.

"And how are you gonna get home, Huey?" Jazmine answered, giving him a smirk of her own. He stopped in his tracks. He totally forgot that she drove him here. He contemplated walking home, but he didn't know where he was or how to get there and it would be longer with a burning hot drink in one hand and a freezing cold drink in the other.

_Shit._

"Yeah, that's what I thought," she said taking her drink out of his hands. She got into her side and cranked up the car. Huey sighed and got in as well before Jazmine drove off.

"This is stupid." Huey noted. Jazmine scoffed and kept driving. "Seriously Jazmine, are you _really_ going to be like this until I apologize for not knowing what you wanted?"

"Yeah, pretty much." she replied, shrugging.

Huey wiped the side of his face and shook his head. "Fine, then. Let's get this over with, because this was a stupid fight." he said.

Jazmine stopped the car in front of Huey's house and turned off the ignition. She looked over to him. "You can start now," she said.

"Okay. I'm sorry. Happy?" he said quickly.

She shook her head.

"What more do I have to do? Make up and perform a damn song and dance to go along with it?" Huey yelled. Jazmine cocked her head to the side as if she was thinking about the idea, smiling. "Don't even, Dubois." he warned her.

"All I want is a legit apology and a kiss, and I'll be okay," she said, biting her lip and looking up.

Huey moved in closer to her. "You're a manipulator, has anyone ever told you that?"

"Maybe one or twice," she smiled. He rolled his eyes and gave her a quick peck before getting out of the car and grabbing his coffee. "Bye, Percy!" she yelled at him before driving to her own house.

He shook his head and went inside. He inhaled and got a strong whiff of the pork that was cooking in the kitchen. He coughed and gagged and took a swig of his coffee to get the smell out of his mind.

"Huey! Get in here boy!" his granddad yelled from the kitchen. Huey walked inside and saw Granddad cooking five things at once. "Get those chitlins off the stove." he point to a large pot cooking.

Huey blinked at it. He didn't want to anywhere near those things. "Granddad, I'm not touching that," he simply said, still staring at the pot. "Get Riley or Cindy to do it, because _that_," he motioned to the stove. "Is beyond disgusting.

"Huey, stop being a hater and get the damn pot! Shoot, I ain't forcing you the things. Just move it over!" he yelled. Huey winced and did what he was told, although he didn't look at the contents inside, and he held his breath while doing so. He went outside and took in fresh air before closing the door.

"I'm never doing that again," he told Granddad. He grabbed his coffee and the newspaper before heading up to his room. He started reading the main article while going up the stairs.

"Hey Huey," Cindy said to Huey when she was exiting his room and heading to her own across the hall.

"Hey Cindy," he mindlessly said as he went inside. He took five steps in his room, then stopped. He looked up, at the door, at Riley, who was sitting on his bed reading a XXL Magazine, and then finally back at his newspaper. "Why was Cindy leaving our room?" he asked him, crossing over to his side of the room. He looked back up from his paper. "You guys didn't do what I think you did in your bed, didn't you?" he eyed his brother suspiciously and sat down.

Riley snickered. "Well, not in _my_ bed..."

Huey immediately shot back up and looked down at his sheets. He turned to his brother, who laughed. "You're a sick-ass person."

Riley died down and went back to his magazine. "Nah, I'm just playin with you. We ain't did nothin," Riley turned a page and shrugged. "We just… talked."

"When do ever just _talk_ to Cindy without it ending up in a make-out session, sex, or, more recently, an argument? Or all of the above, for that matter?" Huey asked. Riley looked at the ceiling and thought about what his older brother said. "Exactly. Never."

"Well, we ain't just talked. We did end up, y'know, kissing."

"Then you probably shouldn't say you _just_ talked to Cindy," Huey said, finishing his coffee and throwing it away. "You should say 'I talked to Cindy and then it turned into something else and we were going to go further, but I realized I already impregnated her." Huey lied down in his bed.

"Since when are you the nigga to see about datin and shit? Mr. I've-Been-In-A-Relationship-For-Only-A-Damn-Month-Yet-I-Know-Every-Fucking-Thing-There-Is-To-Know?" Riley scoffed. "At least I dated her for three months 'fore I started givin yo ass advice."

"One, you were giving me your 'so-called advice' since I was 13." Huey said. "Two, I didn't give you advice; I simply said that your statement was invalid."

"Nigga, whatever you still a bitch," Riley said, getting up and walking out. "Know it all nigga." he muttered.

* * *

><p>"Huey! Go get the door!"<p>

Huey rolled his eyes and got off his bed to go downstairs. Why did he, the person that was all the way upstairs in his room, had to go get the door when there was three able bodied people closer. "_Lazy asses,_" he thought to himself. The person rang the doorbell again, much to Huey's annoyance.

"I'm coming!" he yelled to the door. He swung the door open to see a dressed up Jazmine, wide-eyed and blinking her jade eyes.

"I'm sorry, I thought that no one heard me since everyone is usually in the kitchen at this time and I rang it again, and then I heard you—"

Huey held up his hand and she stopped talking. "It's okay. Really." He looked her up and down while she twirled around for him to see all of her. He liked how she could either be in a formal dress like she now, or in a t-shirt and sweatpants and she could still be radiant. "You look beautiful, Jazmine," he said.

"Really? Because I found this dress last minute because no one had a cute enough dress and I went to Forever 21 and this was the last one they had and I wanted a black one, but all they had was light blue in my size and I said well it's too late go look in another store because I had to wait until my dad came—"

Huey held up his hand again. "Jazmine..."

Tom came up from the driveway carrying a couple of reusable bags of gifts in his hands. "Hello, Huey! Merry Christmas!" Huey shrugged his arms. "Oh Huey, you can't be a sourpuss on the day Jesus was born."

"Actually, Christmas is a Roman holiday where the—"

Jazmine held up her hand over his mouth. "Huey, I don't think we want to hear that right now." she turned to her father. "I take those from you, Daddy," she said, grabbing the bags. She walked over to the Christmas tree in the dining room and placed the presents under the tree,

"I was about to explain the history of Christmas. I think people want to hear that," he said to her.

Jazmine got up and adjusted her strapless front. She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I know you were, but I heard it last year… and the year before that… and the year before that," Jazmine explained. She touched his nose. "You're kind of repetitive, Huey," she giggled. She looked at his bottom lip, which was still sporting a small cut. "Does it still hurt?"

"A little," he admitted.

"Aww," she cooed, giving him a quick peck on it. "Better?" she asked him. He nodded. "Good," she smiled.

"Huey! Go set up the table!" Granddad yelled. Huey sighed and went in the kitchen, along with Jazmine.

After the Christmas dinner, everyone went into the living room to settle down. Jazmine sat next to Huey on the love seat, while Riley and Cindy sat on the longer couch in front of the TV. They were sitting _awfully _close for people who weren't together as a couple, talking about something they saw on YouTube.

"Riley, how did Huey get his cut on his lip?" Jazmine finally asked. Huey shot daggers toward her direction, but she ignored him. "I don't care how many dirty looks you're gonna give me, I want to know how you got the cut," she stated.

"Oh, he ain't tell you?" Riley shot up. Jazmine shook her head. "Okay well, we was walkin to the corner store to get my Aunt Cookie some oil so she could fry some chicken, right? And we went down the long way, 'cause we ain't really want to go back so quickly. Then this nigga ran into Huey and Huey with his passive-ass-attitude was 'Aye man, watch where you goin.' Now, if it was me. We woulda been scrappin right then an' there, but he was tellin me 'You can't be fightin every nigga on the street.'"

"What's the point of this story?" Jazmine sighed.

"If you interrupt me again, I ain't gonna tell you, gots it?" Riley said. Jazmine nodded and sat back. "Okay, as I was sayin before I was cut off by a rude-ass—" Huey glared at him before he finished his sentence. "Person," he corrected. "I was sayin that Huey told the dude to watch out an' the dude turned around and said 'fuck you, nigga. I can walk whereva I want to.' And the nigga took his hood off and it was Cairo! An' I was like 'Oh shit! It's that nigga that beat you up last time we was here!' An' Huey was gettin all pissy and shit sayin' 'He caught me off-guard when I was tryna be nice.' an' Cairo was 'I could still beat you up anytime, fake nigga' An' you know Huey don't like to be called a fake nigga. I mean, he ain't no _real _nigga like me, but he ain't fake. So they started fightin right there. An' it was crazy. I even recorded it on my phone."

"Really?" Jazmine perked up. She went for his phone to watch the video. "Let me see! Let me see!" She grabbed the phone and pressed the play button.

"Is this really necessary?" Huey asked, also watching the video.

"Ssh!" Jazmine hushed him as the real fighting began.

_Huey and Cairo started going at it, each giving punches and blocking them. Huey blocked Cairo's punch and returned kick to Cairo's stomach. Cairo quickly recovered and pushed Huey into the chainlink fence. Huey head-butted him, which made Cairo fall to the ground. Huey walked over to Riley, who was still recording._

"_Riley, turn off the fucking camera," Huey said, breathing heavily. Riley was about to turn off his phone, but Cairo said something that made Huey turn around. Huey turned back around to yell at Riley. "Riley, turn off the—" Huey sentence was cut short when Cairo grabbed his leg and dragged him to the ground. "Fuck!" Huey yelled. Riley then positioned the camera down, and saw both boys on the floor. "Get off me!"_

"_Fuck you, nigga!" Cairo yelled. _

"_Y'all niggas are gay."_

"_This is so stupid," Huey said. He kicked Cairo in the chest and jumped up. Cairo looked as if he was going to get back up, but Huey barked "Stay down!" and he laid there. Huey brushed himself off before continuing walking to the house._

"_That was funny when you ass fell," Riley said after a while. Huey went for the phone, yelling at Riley while doing it. "Okay, okay! Huey, quit playin! My bad nigga!" Riley said while the phone was shaking uncontrollably, then the video stopped._

Jazmine gave back the phone and looked at Huey. "Jazmine… don't," he warned. She disregarded his warning and gave him a hug. "Jazmine…" he said again, trying to pry her off of him and out of his lap.

"You could have been hurt!" she cried. She squeezed him harder. "Really bad, too!"

Huey shot Riley a look as Jazmine still held on. Riley shrugged his arms and looked down at his phone. "Jazmine, it's okay. I'm not hurt, am I?" he asked. She let go and shook her head no. "Then, you have nothing to worry about. Okay? So calm down," he said.

She sat down back in her seat, but shot up again. "Your presents! I totally forgot about them!" she ran into the dining room where her father and Granddad was. She looked through one of the bags and gave him his present. "Merry Christmas!" she said cheerily.

"I told you not to get me anything," Huey said when she walked back into the living room.

"You can get yours last then," she said smiling. "First, Riley," she said, handing him a wrapped present. "You kind of know what it is, though."

Riley ripped the paper and opened the box. He saw two Polos, just like Jazmine said she would get, one was gray and the other was black. "Aye, this is exactly what I needed. I messed up my other black Polo the other day."

"He put bleach in the dark clothes," Cindy explained. "Dumbass."

"Shut up!" he told her. "I ain't know that bleach is fo' white clothes!"

"Anyways," Jazmine said, smiling and rolling her eyes. "Here's Cindy's gift. Merry Christmas." She handed the envelope to Cindy. Cindy opened it carefully and saw inside a gift card to _Babies R Us_… for 100 dollars. "You're welcome!" she said smiling. Cindy was speechless. Jazmine turned to Huey. "And now, for your gift." She went inside her bag and pulled out the final present.

"Oh, she got you an actual gift," Riley said, pointing. "She for a second there I thought she was gonna give you—" Huey and Jazmine stared at Riley. "Neva mind."

"Here," Jazmine said, handing over the gift. Huey looked at it. "Huey, take the box." He shook his head no. "Huey, take this present or you aren't getting _anything _from me for a while," she said, lowering her eyes. "Catch my drift?" Huey huffed and snatched the gift out of her hand. "Thank you!" she replied, smiling.

"Damn, she used mind control on his ass." Riley told Cindy.

"Shut up, Riley," he told his brother. He opened the present and saw six video games in the box, all new and all came out within the past few months. "Jazmine, how can you afford all these games? They're at least 50 bucks each!" he said in awe.

Jazmine shrugged "I don't know I just went into GameStop and asked the guy who worked there what were popular games and I bought them. I knew you didn't want something girly or anything like that, and I know you and Riley like playing video games. Are they good?"

"Which ones did she get?" Riley asked, looking to see the titles. Huey threw some of the games to Riley, narrowly missing Cindy's head. _Call of Duty: Black Ops, Uncharted 3, and NBA 2K12_ were just some of the games. "Oh hell yeah, we gonna be playin' _2K12_ tonight, nigga!"

"And she got _Madden 12, Skyrim and Battlefield 3_," he said, staring at the games in his hands.

"Are they good?" she repeated again, slightly irritated.

"They're the greatest," he said. He gave her a kiss on the lips. "Thank you," he whispered.

"You're welcome," she whispered back.

"Boo!" Riley said, giving the couple a thumbs-down. "Aye, while y'all niggas are bein' lovey-dovey, touchy-feely and shit, how about you put in _Black Ops_ before y'all start sucking faces?" he said, throwing the game back to Huey. Huey caught it and got up to put it in the PlayStation.

"Jazmine? It's time to go!" Tom yelled. Jazmine got up and stretched. He walked into the living room and saw all the kids. "C'mon Jazmine, we have to go home." He saw the boys playing the new games. "Oh, I see they've already started playing the games you got them." He turned around and walked to the door.

"Pause it," Huey told Riley. He ran to the Christmas tree and got one present out. "Jazmine, wait." She stopped and looked at him. He gave her the gift. "Merry Christmas or whatever," he shrugged. She took it and gave him a kiss. "Bye," he said.

"Bye," she repeated as she closed the door.

* * *

><p>Jazmine sat on the couch, staring at her present from Huey, contemplating if she wanted to open it or not. On one hand, she really wanted to just rip it open right now and see what's inside, but the other hand wanted to wait until they were together to open it. She sighed and took the box to her room and left it on the bed, while she went back downstairs. She went inside the kitchen to get a drink.<p>

"Hey Jazmine," Tom said from the table. He was surrounded by mounds of evidence for his case on Tuesday and he planned on going into the office tomorrow while others had the day off. "Is it just me or did Cindy put on some weight recently? Isn't she playing on your school's basketball team? And why is she always at the Freeman's house?" he wondered.

Jazmine froze. She never told her father about what happened with Cindy. She hoped that he wouldn't react to harshly. "Dad? Um… she doesn't play with the team anymore… because of a medical reason," she offered. She wanted for that to be enough for him to know.

"Oh. What does she have?" Apparently not.

"She has… teenage pregnancy syndrome?" she said, trying to let out the tense air in the room. Tom turned in his seat to face his daughter. She winced. "Now, Dad, don't think that—"

"Am I the last to know?" he said calmly. Jazmine made circles with her foot. "Jazmine Bethany Dubois, am I the last person to know about Cindy?"

"Yes."

Tom stood up. "And _why_ am I the last person to know this?" he asked her. She shrugged her shoulders. "More importantly, why are you still associating yourself with her?"

She looked at her dad, then shook her head. "I don't understand what you're asking. Are you asking why am I still friends with my best friends, even though she's currently pregnant? You think I'm just going to forget about her and avoid her like she has the plague or something?"

"Jazmine, I don't want you to be influenced by her to make the same mistakes she did," her dad said calmly.

"Dad, I'm not stupid! I'm not gonna go get knocked up!" she said, trying not to raise her voice too loud.

"As your father, I'm trying to tell you that I don't like you hanging out with her and I don't want you to be around her anymore. Her standards aren't like ours." He gathered up his belongings. "Why don't you hang out with my associates' daughters, like Ashley… or Clarissa?"

Jazmine scoffed. She knew those girls at school. She was pretty sure that Ashley smokes weed behind the baseball bleachers during lunch, and Clarissa? Well, she would rather kill herself than to even be in the same room with her outside of school. "No, I don't want to be friends with them. I don't care to be friends with those girls. I want to be friends with Cindy, Huey, and Riley. They don't influence me at all!"

"Then who influenced you to have sex?" her father questioned her. Jazmine sighed. They were back on this subject again.

"_I_ influenced myself, Dad! Just because I made a decision to do something that is morally right doesn't mean I was pressured to do so! I wanted to do it because… I love Huey, and he loves me too!"

Tom scoffed. "Oh really? Have you forgotten the times he made you run home crying? The times you were in your room asking why he hated you? Or how about the times he called naïve and annoying? Did you forget all those? Because I do. He only likes you because you're beautiful now. So, before you go on saying that Huey loves you, you should remember the times he hated you." Tom turned around to go to his room.

Jazmine stood there breathing heavily. She closed her eyes tight. She didn't want to say it, but it came out spontaneously, like word vomit. She couldn't hold in her feelings anymore. "What the _fuck _is your problem with Huey?" She yelled across the house.

Tom stopped at the stairs. After a second of silence, Tom said, "Excuse me, young lady?"

Jazmine took a deep breath. "Ever since me and Huey started dating, you've had this problem with him, like he isn't good enough for me or something!"

"Jazmine I think that—"

"Oh, bullshit! You're always asking me where am I going, and is Huey going to be there, or you're always asking if Huey did anything to me and stuff like that!" Jazmine yelled, moving in closer to the stairs. "What's the problem? I don't understand. I love Huey and I don't plan on breaking up with him… _anytime _soon. So, you're going to have suck it up, sit down, and shut the fuck up about what he used to do to me. Because people change. And even if you don't accept us, I'll still see him. And after that, I'll just leave. Just like mom did." She knew that last statement stung. She didn't care, though. He hurt her more than enough earlier. She pushed though him to go up to her room, where she locked the door and fell on her bed. She looked over to the present that was still sitting on her bed next to her.

"I need cheering up," she reasoned. She grabbed the present and ripped it open. Inside the box was the Chicago Bear sweatshirt that she loved to wear at his house and a strip of paper. She read the strip.

_Merry Christmas, my love.-Huey  
>(p.s. if you tell anyone I wrote this, I'll deny it.)<em>

__Her dad didn't know what he was talking about.


	14. Happy New Year's To Us

Chapter Fourteen: Happy New Year's To Us

"Are you sure you'll be okay by yourself?"

Jazmine said nothing and kept watching the television. Tom sighed scratched the back of his head. It had been almost a week since their fight, and she hadn't said anything to him since. As frustrated as he was, he decided he wanted to put aside their differences and try to work things out and repair the broken relationship. Jazmine wanted to do no such thing.

"Well, I'm leaving to go to the New Year's party," he tried. She blinked her eyes and turned the channel. He opened the door and headed out. "I love you, honey," he said before closing the door. She rolled her eyes and kept looking at the screen. She looked at her phone's clock, which read 10:35, and decided to go to her room.

After her long shower, she went downstairs to get some ice cream. She went in the freezer and grabbed the whole carton and went back to her room. As she sat in her bed with her computer and the Rocky Road pint, she heard a knocking. She looked up for a second, but soon disregarded it. She heard it again and this time she got up to investigate it. She went over to her window and saw another rock hit screen, which made her jump back. She opened her window and saw Huey standing in her backyard. "Huey?" she said.

"Let me up!" he yelled to her. She threw her makeshift rope out the window and within minutes, he was in her room. "Hey."

"Hey," she repeated.

"How much time do we have?"

She looked at her digital clock on her nightstand. "I don't know, probably a good two hours… maybe more," she estimated. She looked back at him and she smiled. "Do you think you can work within those limits?" she said, rocking side to side.

He smirked. "More than enough time." He walked up to her and picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. She giggled and kissed him, moving towards the bed. He took off the computer and the ice cream and placed them on the side of the bed. He then placed Jazmine on the edge of bed and took off his shirt.

She whistled and clapped. "Whoo! Sexy!" she said, giggling. He shook his head and climbed on top of her and scooted her further in the bed. She lifted her arms up as he took off her oversized shirt. Huey started kissing her from her ear to her neck, where he gave her another hickey right above the first one. Jazmine let out a small moan and he kept sucking.

"Wait." She sat up in her bed and sat there for a second.

"Something wrong?" Huey asked, sliding off of her.

She looked to her door. "I forgot to turn the alarm on," she said, getting out of the bed and getting the pint of ice cream.

"Are you really thinking about an alarm at a time like this?" Huey wondered, raising one of his eyebrows.

"I know, but I also have to turn off all the lights downstairs because if I don't, my dad feels obligated to come in my room and tell me how I'm wasting electricity and if you're in here…" she explained to Huey.

"I'll go turn it on; you just stay right there." Huey grabbed the ice cream from her and left out of the door.

Jazmine sat on the bed, waiting for Huey to come back. She was playing with her hair when his phone vibrated. She looked over at the shining screen but she ignored it when it went away. It vibrated again, to notify again that there was text. She thought it could be something important from Riley or Mr. Freeman, and she grabbed the phone to see the sender.

_Clarissa: Happy New Year, Huey! Hope it's a good one! ;)_

Jazmine stared in disgust. How did they have each other's number? And why the hell was she texting him? "That sneaky little bastard," she thought out loud. She hit the reply button and tried to think of a good response.

_Huey: I'm with my girlfriend right now, so could you not text me?_

She smiled. Hopefully she would get the picture and would back away from Huey for the time being. She heard footsteps on the stairs, so she quickly hid the phone under her pillow and laid on it, looking as casual as possible.

"Sorry I took so long; I forgot where your alarm system was," Huey said, rubbing his neck. Jazmine grunted in response. Huey closed the door behind him and locked it. He got back onto and next to her. As he went in for a kiss on the lips, Jazmine turned her head when he got close. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. Maybe I'm not in the mood anymore," she replied, shrugging her shoulders.

Huey sat up. "Five minutes ago, you wanted to take me where I stood. What changed when I went downstairs?" He tried to look in her eyes, but she avoided his gaze.

She rolled her eyes and got up. "I don't know. Maybe you should ask that whore Clarissa if she'll give you some. I heard that she's _real_ thirsty for you Huey," she yelled. She got the phone from under the pillow and threw it at him.

"You looked through my phone?"

Jazmine put her shirt back on. "It rang while you were downstairs and I thought it could Riley or someone telling you something vital, so I opened it. And guess who it is? Clarissa Fucking Faulkner," she looked at him. "I can't believe you."

Huey shook his head. "You're blowing this out of proportion."

Jazmine scoffed. "_I'm_ blowing this out of proportion?" she yelled. "How about you're not taking this seriously? You _know_ how much I hate her, you _know_ how much she hates me, and you _know_ how she treats me like crap and you _still_ text her?"

Huey scoffed. "And how do you think I feel about you and Rashad having each other's number?"

"Don't you fucking dare try to spin this one on me, Freeman," she pointed. "You know I have his number and you told me don't ever text that guy, and thought I was being a good girlfriend by doing that! And you don't even tell me you have her number _and_ she texts you? Rashad got the message and doesn't send me things anymore!"

Huey felt stupid for bringing him into the argument. It was kind of a low blow for him. "Jazmine, I—"

"No, fuck you!" she screamed at him. He backed up a little. She never raised her voice at him. "I defended you stupid self! I yelled at my father to give you a chance! He said all this bad stuff about you and I, being the stupid lovestruck girl I am, I defended that you changed and you actually do love me!" She lowered her voice and her face started to get red and hot. He knew she was about to cry. "I gave you everything, Huey. I have nothing else that I could possibly think for you. I feel like… I'm giving the most and I'm getting nothing in return." Her voice started to crack. "All we do is either sit at home or have sex, and I thought it would be more in a relationship than that. You've never told me you loved me or anything with love in it. And I'm starting to believe that it's because… you don't."

Huey stepped towards her. She was crying uncontrollably and her knees looked as if they would give out any minute. He got closer to her and she looked up at him. "Jazmine, I do love you. I loved you since we were thirteen."

She smiled but it quickly faded into a scowl. "You fucking liar! You're only saying that because I called you out on it!" she yelled. He sighed. He couldn't win with her. "I can't stand you, Huey! I hate you! I hate you!" She started to hit his chest while crying. He enveloped her in a hug. "You suck!" she yelled, still hitting him.

"Stop being so insecure, Jazmine." She looked up at him. He wiped her eyes. "Are you done?" he asked. She slapped his chest one more time and nodded. "Good. And Jazmine, I don't want Clarissa. I want you. You're ten times better than her, okay?" She smiled at him. "What?"

"Say it again."

"I don't want Clarissa?" he said confused.

"No, the other part, dummy," she giggled.

He smirked. "I love you."

"Again," she asked another time. His phone vibrated in the floor and they both looked at it. Jazmine kicked it under the bed and looked back at him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Again."

He picked her up and she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist. "I love you." He placed her in the front of bed.

"Again," she moaned.

He lied on top of her and looked in her jade eyes. "I don't want to say it anymore; I want to show you," he breathed. She nodded and lifted her arms as he took off her shirt.

"Wait," she said. He stopped where he was. "Arms up," she instructed. He did as he was told and she lifted his shirt over his head. "Good, now we're even," she smiled. He interlocked his fingers with hers, lifted her and went down to her bellybutton. He trailed kisses from her stomach to her lips. She opened her mouth to let his tongue dip in and she moaned when she felt his hand disconnect with hers and go up her thigh.

"Stop teasing me Huey," she whined, biting her lip. He pulled her back up and she was sitting in his lap as he tried to unhook her bra, but was unsuccessful. "Third time and you're still not good at this," she laughed. She put her hand on top of his and went through the motions of taking off her bra.

"Maybe you should stop wearing them when we meet up," he suggested sarcastically.

"That can be arranged for you," she returned. She threw her bra on the floor and lied back down.

"I'd like to see that," he smirked and sat up. He slipped her out of her panties and kneeled on the floor. She looked up and moaned when his tongue entered. He loved to hear her moan; it was like music to his ears. Jazmine wrapped her legs around his head as he started to go faster.

"Huey," she squeaked out. She grabbed a pillow and bit on it as hard as she could, because she knew her end was coming. Her breath was getting shallow and faster, and when he added his finger, she forgot to breathe altogether. "Huey!" she said a little louder. Just when she knew she was about to burst, he stopped.

"You okay?" he joked, standing up. He licked his lips in the sexiest way that Jazmine forgot how to inhale again.

"In more ways than one," she let out. He chuckled and climbed on top of her. She pulled back the sheets and they both slid back on the bed. He kissed her lips and climbed to the nightstand. "Bottom drawer, under my things," she panted. He opened the bottom drawer and dug under all of her school junk to find the hidden box. Jazmine smiled and pulled him closer to her body when he pulled out the condom.

Huey looked over at the nightstand to see the alarm clock. "Huh, it's 12:00 already," he noticed. "I guess Happy New Year then." He gave her a kiss, and then went to fumble with his belt.

"Happy New Year to you too.

* * *

><p>Riley was on the couch playing the Black Ops, trying to beat the level, but failing miserably. Usually, he would be at a party somewhere getting faded, but he only knew about one, and that one was known to have a shootout there, and he wasn't taking any chances tonight. When he failed again, though, he considered going for more action.<p>

"You still at home?" Cindy asked going into the kitchen. "Ain't someone havin a big-ass party somewhere?"

"The only one I know is Tommy's."

Cindy turned her head. "Tommy? 'You most certainly gone get a bullet in the chest' Tommy?" She shook her head. "I'm glad yo ass didn't go there. I don't wanna a dead baby daddy to deal with. No, thank you."

"You welcome, C," he said smirking. He went back to his game and started mashing buttons. He threw the controller down as he lost another level. "Dis some bullshit…" he muttered. Cindy came and sat by him with a bowl of… _something_. He sniffed it. "What is you eatin?"

"Oatmeal, fried shrimp, and barbecue sauce. You want some?" she asked, motioning the bowl towards him. He pushed the bowl back to her.

"_Hell _naw, girl. That shit looks worse than Mrs. Dubois's throw-up peach cobbler. And _that _shit was god awful," he shook his head. He picked up the controller again. "You better go wash yo mouth out after that, 'cause yo breath gon be on _fire_. You gon be like a dragon."

"Nigga, shut up," she pouted. She ate her creation quickly and went upstairs to go brush her teeth, but not before blowing her breath on Riley. He covered his nose with his hand and gagged. She smiled and went on her way.

"Make sure you brush good!" he yelled. She flicked him off and he smirked.

As Riley tried to figure out what to do next in his game, he didn't notice Cindy sneaking around the house with a Nerf gun. "Hey Riley," she said in a sing-songy voice. He looked up and ducked just in time to see a dart flying his way. He dropped to the floor and covered his head. "It's real life Modern Warfare, bitch!" Cindy yelled.

Riley smirked and pulled out his secret arsenal of weapons from under the coffee table and pulled out his own gun. He knew too many times from Huey that he needed to have a spare in secret places. "You think you slick for runnin up on a nigga, huh?" he said out loud. He searched out the room for her, but came up empty.

"Someone would think that you be betta prepared with an older brother like Huey. You shoulda took pointers from him," Cindy remarked from the bottom of the stairs. She aimed at the dining room and waited for Riley to show. "Come on, Reezy. If this how you play CoD, then it's no wonder why you suck."

Riley shook his head, trying to get the negative thoughts out of his head. She just better be glad they were playing with Nerf guns and not the BB guns the brothers usually fought with. He backed into the dining room and saw Cindy sitting down. They both fired two shots before Riley ran back into the kitchen. Cindy got up and went to the living room, expecting to see Riley somewhere. She went to couch and looked behind the sofa for good measures before she sat down. She turned around to see Riley pointed his gun at her. "Shit," she sighed.

"Yeah, you can't fuck with a real G. Imma beast at this shit," he smirked. She raised her hands and sat down on the sofa, followed by Riley. "You did good, tho. You almost got me."

"It was betta than sucking at the video game, right?" Cindy retorted. Riley rolled his eyes and smiled. He grabbed the controller on the table and restarted the game. "Lemme show it's done my nigga."

"White girl, drop my remote!" He tried to wrestle the controller out of his hands. She hid it behind her back. He reached behind her, but clumsily slipped and almost fell on top of her if he didn't brace himself on the arm of the couch. He looked down at Cindy and inched closer to her, but moved away when the front door opened. He jumped away from her and stared at the TV while Cindy grabbed the controller and started the game.

Granddad walked in to the hallway and headed to the kitchen. "Hey, boy. Cindy," he said, yawning. Both kids acknowledged him and went back at looking at the screen. He put his keys on the counter and rubbed his eyes. "Where's yo brother?" he asked.

Riley shrugged. "He ain't been out his room since you left Granddad," he admitted. "I think he went to sleep early."

"Well, I'm gonna follow him. Don't y'all make a lot of noise down here. Happy New Year," he said before heading up to his room. When they heard the door close, they both let out a sigh of relief and looked at each other.

Cindy got up. "Well, I don't wanna be loser and go to sleep early too, but it's kinda late." Riley got up as well and held her hand. "What?" she asked. He gave her the kiss that he wanted to give her earlier without interruptions this time. Cindy broke away and her eyes fluttered.

"Happy New Year, bae," Riley said. Cindy nodded, still dazed, and went upstairs. He smirked. He couldn't believe he still had that effect on her.

* * *

><p>Huey took the covers off of his body and got out of the bed. He walked over to the bathroom and closed the door. He turned on the light and went to the toilet and he opened the top and he went the restroom. His bathroom looked unusually bright, and he rubbed his eyes with his arm and tried to adjust to the light. The color was unfamiliar to him, the white replaced by pink stripes. He shrugged and finished his business and flushed. He washed his hands and turned off the light. He got back in the bed and closed his eyes.<p>

His eyes shot open as he realized he wasn't in his own bed.

He sat up and turned on the lamp on the dresser. Sure enough, he was still with Jazmine, who groaned and dipped her head under her blanket. "Light off," she whined. She poked her head out and looked up at Huey. "What time is it?" she asked.

He looked down at his watch. "4:15." He got up and searched for his shirt. "I was supposed to be home hours ago." He saw a shirt near the bed and picked it up. "Isn't this my shirt?" Jazmine stretched over and yanked the shirt out of his grip.

"It _was _your shirt. You left it over here a long time ago when you spent the night," she said, pulling the shirt over her head. "You have your own drawer of shirts over there." She pointed to the bottom drawer of her dresser. She looked down at her side and found some of his clothes. "Boxers, pants," she said as she threw them in his direction.

"Thanks," he said, putting them on. "Panties," he stated before throwing them at Jazmine. "Bra?" he asked, picking them up. She shook her head and pointed to her dirty clothes and he shot them in. He went to her drawer of his clothes and pulled out a random shirt.

"I'll wash your shirt if I find it. It'll be in there next time," she yawned. He nodded and came back to sit on the bed. "I wish you could stay a little bit longer," she pouted and stared at her hands in her lap.

He lifted her chin up with his finger. "I'll be back before you know it, okay?" he said, rubbing her cheek with his thumb.

"Okay," she nodded. He leaned in for a small kiss and got up. "I love you, Huey!" she said, smiling.

He went over to the window and smirked. "I love you too."

He climbed down the blanket rope and ran to his house. As he left the backyard and tried to cross the street, he saw Tom's car pull up in the driveway. He dove into the bushes and brought his knees to his chest. He heard Tom on the phone with someone as he walked up to the front door.

"Sarah, don't do this…" he drunkenly said. Huey's eyes widened as he listened to the conversation going on. "I'm just saying you could do better," he let out. Huey shook his head. Did he just really quote Drake? "Oh ha, ha. You could better than me. You know, I gave you a whole lot and you didn't return nothing. I stepped up when Jazmine was born. I wasn't like those other niggas who leave when they knock a girl up. You fucking suck, Sarah. And I mean that both ways!"

Huey did _not _have to hear that.

"Hell yeah, I'm drunk!" Tom yelled. Huey then heard a thump and Tom groaning. "Since when do you give a fuck about Jazmine?"

Huey dug a peep hole in the bushes to watch Tom. He was sitting on the front porch, still on the phone. The normally clean lawyer looked much dismantled with his shirt untucked and his tie undone. He looked drunk beyond repair and he was glad Jazmine wasn't around to him.

"How much better than is he?" Tom asked quietly. "I still love you, Sarah. I hope you know that. Jazmine? She's just like you, even the sneaking around with the Freeman kid is like you. She's growing up and you're going to miss it. I hope he's worth it." Tom got up and threw his phone in the bushes where Huey was. Huey backed up and caught the phone.

"_Hello? Tom? Where did you go? Hello? Tom!_" Sarah yelled in the phone. Huey ended the call and sat the phone on the ground. When he was sure Tom wasn't coming back outside, he made a mad dash to his backyard. He opened the back door, which was never locked, and quietly snuck up to his room and got in his bed and immediately fell asleep.

* * *

><p>Huey sat down on the couch next to his brother, who was playing NBA 2K12 on their shared PlayStation. He yawned and grabbed the newspaper sitting on the coffee table. He read the first article and opened it up.<p>

"Where was you last night?" Riley asked, still mashing buttons on the controller.

"Like it's any of _your_ business where I was," Huey retorted. He turned the page and looked at Riley. "Since when are you so concerned on my whereabouts?"

Riley shrugged. "Damn, nigga I was just wonderin. You gettin all defensive and shit." He lost the game he was playing and threw the controller. "This game a fucking cheat."

"Maybe you're just not good at the game," Huey offered. Riley shot him a look and Huey shrugged. "I'm just saying."

"I'm just sayin'," he mocked. The doorbell rang and Riley motioned towards it. "Go get the door, Huey McHater."

Huey rolled his eyes and got up to get the door. He opened the door and he saw Jazmine standing there. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she repeated. She dug in the pocket of her dress and pulled out his phone. "Here, you left this under my bed last night and I wanted to give it back to you before I go to my grandmother's house today. I found it this morning after Clarissa texted you again."

Huey raised an eyebrow. "Did you reply back?" Jazmine smiled and nodded happily. "What did you say?"

She put the phone in his pants pocket and patted it. "I told her to fuck off." She crossed her arms and shrugged. "She hasn't replied since and that was three hours ago." Jazmine interlocked her fingers with Huey's and looked in his maroon eyes. "I think she's mad." She leaned in for a kiss.

"Aren't you scared that Tom is going to see us, since he's so anti-Huey?" he asked, leaning in as well.

"Tom who?" Jazmine smiled. She planted her kiss and looked back at Huey.

"So now I have a badass girlfriend who curses out other girls and doesn't care what her dad says?" he wondered. She nodded. "I could get used to that."

She kissed him another time before letting go. "I gotta go now. Text me later, okay?" She blew him a kiss before turning around and walking to her house. Huey smirked and went inside his own house. He sat on the couch and changed the channel to the news. He was approached by Cindy and Riley who had big smiles on their faces.

"What do you two want?" he asked, not even giving them a glance.

"Nothing," Cindy said in a singsongy voice. She skipped and sat down next to Huey on the couch. She swung her legs around and looked at Huey. He shot her a glare. "What?" she asked in her innocent voice.

"What do you want to say?" he sighed. He didn't like this stupid game.

"I don't wanna say nothin."

"Don't play dumb with me," he said, shaking his head. "You and Jazmine always do that little game when you have something to say but you want somebody to bring it up. I know her too well to know when she's doing that."

Cindy squealed and gave him a hug. "You're in love!"

"Excuse me?"

"You're _soo _in love with Jazmine and it's _so _cute!" she said. Huey slightly pushed her off of him. She laughed. "The more you act like that, the more I believe it's true."

"That nigga in love."

"I know right?" Cindy answered.

Huey shook his head and got up. "Don't you too have something better to do than mess with me?"

Cindy and Riley looked at each other. "No."

Huey sighed and walked to the stairs. "Well find something to do!" he yelled at them. He went into his room and sat at his computer to read about the news, even though he wasn't really interested in what happened. Even he couldn't deny this.

He was in fact, definitely, certainly, unquestionably, positively, undeniably, without a doubt in love with Jazmine Dubois. And he wasn't afraid to admit that he actually liked it.


	15. Can You Hear It?

Chapter Fifteen: Can You Hear It?

"Jazmine can you do me a huge favor tomorrow?" Cindy asked at lunch. She was stabbing what she thought was spaghetti on her plate. She looked up at Jazmine with huge eyes.

"Sure, what's up?" Jazmine asked.

"Um, well Granddad is going out tomorrow and I was wonderin' if you could… take me to the doctor at noon? I know it's short notice and shit but I—"

"Yeah, sure," she replied. She ate a piece of her sandwich as Cindy stared at her. "What? Did you really think that I would blow you off tomorrow? Come on, Cindy. You know me better than that."

"Damn, you need to get a life."

She laughed and rolled her eyes. "I have a feeling I'm going to be the personal chauffeur of the Freeman household for a while." Jazmine sighed. "I should start charging you guys."

"Aye, I ain't got no money. You know imma broke ass pregnant girl," she retorted. She forked a meatball and popped it in her mouth. She shrugged and started eating it. "I'd be ridin the bus more if you started pulling that shit."

"Well, you better get a bus pass, then," Jazmine said, smiling. Cindy fake-gasped and threw her napkin at her. "I'm kidding! I'm kidding! I wouldn't do that to you!"

She grabbed her napkin and wiped her mouth. "Yeah, you better be," she retorted. She kept eating as Huey sat down at the table. "Hey Huey," she said with her mouth full.

"Hey," he said, slightly disgusted.

"I think you need to close your mouth, Cindy, honey," Jazmine suggested. Cindy opened her mouth wider and the couple groaned and looked away. "Ew, ew, ew! That's so disturbing!" she whined.

"I think I'm going to skip lunch today," Huey winced.

"What? Y'all act like you ain't never seen chewed food before," she said before swallowing. "Stop hating!"

"And I thought Riley was bad..." Huey noted.

"Nope, Cindy's worse. Way worse," Jazmine told him, eating the rest of her lunch. She offered her apple slices to Huey, who took one.

"Y'all are too cute together," Cindy noticed. Jazmine blushed and Huey looked away. "See? Even y'all are shy together."

The bell rang and Jazmine got up. "So I'll pick you up tomorrow?" she said leaving to her class with Huey. Cindy nodded before walking off. "You want to go with us?"

"To?"

"I'm taking Cindy and I'm assuming Riley to their checkup tomorrow. Do you want to keep me company?" she asked him. He shrugged his shoulders. "That's not an answer," she replied, pushing him slightly.

"I guess," he said in a fake tired tone.

He dropped her off at the choir room and turned to go to his class. "Wait," she said, grabbing his arm. She pulled him in an embrace. "I'll see you later."

"You know how I feel about public affection, Jazmine."

She looked around the hallway they were in. "There's no one around us," she said. She stood up on her toes and gave him a long kiss. Huey put his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him.

"Ahem." Jazmine broke the kiss to see her choir teacher and about thirty giggling girls standing behind the music teacher. She could feel the blush creeping on her face. She could also see Huey's face turning red. "Miss Dubois, you are late for class."

Jazmine broke away from Huey. "What are you talking about, Mrs. Coppola? The tardy bell hasn't—"

_RING._

"Rang yet," she said flatly. She waved at Huey before she walked into the music room. "Stop looking at me, you nosy gossipers!" she yelled at the girls.

"Mr. Freeman, you may be excused," Mrs. Coppola told Huey. He nodded and walked to his class. She walked back to the class and used her conducting stick to strike the whiteboard. "Open your sightreading books to 142 and write down the notes."

As Jazmine tried to decipher the music in front of her, she felt someone tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see Kenya, one of Clarissa's right-hand women, smiling at her. She turned back forward. "Kenya, don't you have better things to do than mess with me? Did Clarissa set you up to this?"

Kenya scoffed. "I do have a mind of my own sometimes."

"Did Clarissa tell you that?"

Even though she couldn't see her, she could tell she just rolled her eyes. "So, Freeman, huh?" she said, disregarding her comment. "Doesn't he have a brother?" she thought.

Jazmine turned back to her. "One, why are you even asking me; we're not even friends. And even if we were, I wouldn't tell you that if you held a gun to my head."

"Touchy," Kenya replied. "I'll take that as a yes. Is he cute?"

"Bug off, Goodwin," Jazmine said, irritated and annoyed.

"What? I'm just asking a simple—"

Tia, the girl sitting next Jazmine and one of Jazmine's few friends outside of her group, turned around this time. "Look, Jazmine said she would answer the question so why do you keep messing with her? No means no. Or did you skip your common sense class?" she angrily told her. "I'm trying to work her and I can't concentrate with you buzzing behind me!"

"Miss Bradley, Miss Dubois, and Miss Goodwin. This is an individual activity. Would you like to share your conversation with the class?"

"No ma'am," all three girls replied before going back to work.

"So, how old is he?" Kenya asked after Mrs. Coppola stepped out of the classroom. Jazmine and Tia slapped their foreheads.

"Huey's brother is 14. His name's Riley. He goes to Woodcrest Middle School," Annabel, the girl sitting on the top row announced. She knew everything about everyone. "I think he's dating Cindy McPherson, though."

"The pregnant freshman?" Kenya gasped.

"I heard they broke up after Cindy cheated on him with Damien Henshaw," another girl chipped in.

"Isn't Riley dating that other girl in the eighth grade?" Annabel said.

"Oh yeah, did you see that picture on Twitter?"

"I heard they fought at the mall."

"Isn't she pregnant?"

"Duh, where have you been?"

Jazmine turned around again and stood up. "You guys. I am really trying to do my work here. You can talk about the Freemans later. But for right now, can you shut the hell up?" she spat out.

"Miss Dubois!" Jazmine winced and turned around. "Come here. Now." Some of the girls oohed and giggled as Jazmine walked down the risers. She stood by her teacher as she waited to receive her punishment. "You're my best student. I don't want to, but I have to discipline you. I don't know how to."

"You should make her talk about her boyfriend!" Annabel yelled out. Jazmine shot her a dirty look and shook her head, but everyone agreed to the sentence.

"It's either that or the office for swearing," Mrs. Coppola told her. Jazmine seriously considered going to the office, but that means they would call her dad and they were already at wit's end, and he could send her far away if she got a referral. "Three facts."

"Three? Okay, my boyfriend is Huey Freeman, he's black, he's sixteen, and his middle name is Percy," she stated rapidly. "Can I go now?" she asked, going back to her seat.

"Wait! I have a question!" one girl said.

Mrs. Coppola motioned to come back. Jazmine sighed and sat down in a chair in the front of the risers. This was going to be a long punishment.

* * *

><p>Huey stood outside the choir room waiting for Jazmine to come outside so they could walk to their next class. As he was standing, a group of three girls looked at him and giggled. He raised his eyebrow and shook his head. "<em>Girls,<em>" he thought to himself. He waited a little longer and another clique of girls came outside.

"Hi _Percy_," one of the girls said. Huey turned around quickly and saw the girls burst into a fit of laughter. He sighed. This could only be something of Jazmine's doing.

She walked out of the room and saw Huey standing there. "Oh hi Huey! Sorry I was so late; I had to do extra things in there. Anyway I was wondering if you wanted to go somewhere after school. I don't want to go straight home and plus it's a Friday, and no one wants to spend a Friday at home. At first, I wanted to say the mall, but I remembered how you don't like the mall, so I said let's go see a movie—"

"Jazmine, why did those girls call me by my middle name?" Huey interrupted. He knew that if he didn't stop her she would ramble on forever and he would never get the answer he wanted.

"Huh? Jazmine responded, caught off-guard.

"The girls in your class? I'm pretty sure I never told them my middle name."

"Um… your shoes look really nice today. Are they new?" Jazmine asked. She walked toward her locker. "I've never seen you wear them before? What kind are they? Are they Nikes? They look like Nikes."

Huey leaned on the lockers next to hers. "Quit trying to change the subject," he scolded her. "Were you talking about me in choir today?"

Jazmine pulled her book for class closed her locker. "Kind of," she admitted. He sighed. "It wasn't anything serious or anything! Just like… the sweet things you do for me. That's it! Nothing major!"

"Why?"

"Because I was talking when we weren't supposed to," she answered nonchalantly. "So my punishment was to answer questions about you. I think I have a little competition with the choir girls. They're infatuated with you." He grunted. "You have to admit, it's a little cute how they like you."

"What did you tell them?"

She tapped her chin as she thought. "I told them the time we went to go see _Easy A_ for my fifteenth birthday and you punched that guy who said something creepy to me. Oh! And that time when we were twelve and you ripped Mrs. Wellington's arm and you tried to sew it back, but you ended up just stabbing yourself and cursing a lot." He rolled his eyes at the memories. "I think that they approve of you a lot more now."

"I'm glad I have the seal of approval from the choir girls," he smirked as they walked into the classroom.

* * *

><p>It was a sunny Saturday morning. Jazmine honked her horn twice to let the people inside know she was outside. Huey was the first one to come outside. He sat in the passenger seat next to Jazmine and looked at her.<p>

"Morning," he said leaning over to kiss her.

"Morning," she repeated, meeting him halfway. The peck lasted longer than it was supposed to, and Huey leaned in a little more.

"Boo!" Riley yelled while getting into the back seat. "Y'all niggas need to get a room."

"Riley," Jazmine said, breaking the kiss and looking at him. "Always a pleasure to have you around."

"No problem."

"Where's the girl of the hour?"

"Right here!" Cindy announced, plopping next to Riley in the back seat. "Sorry it took me so long. I didn't wake up until thirty minutes ago and you know how long it takes me to get ready."

"Yes, we know," everyone in the car replied.

"Okay, damn," Cindy retorted to the negative response she got. "I thought someone would be on my side today. My bad for being a very, very, _very _high maintenance person."

"You're forgiven," Jazmine replied with a smile. Cindy scoffed and smiled back. "So where is this mysterious doctor's office?"

"Oh, it's downtown… Baltimore," Cindy said. She heard Jazmine and Huey both smacked their foreheads. "Okay, I totally forgot that I didn't tell you where it was. I just assumed you knew it was in the city."

"Please, indulge me," Huey started. "How the hell are we supposed to know that your doctor's office is about a forty five minute drive away in Baltimore? Can we read your mind, Cindy? And you didn't realize that Jazmine came at _11:45_? We're not going to make it on time."

"Alright, my bad. But while we sittin here, tryna blame errybody, how about we hightail the fuck outta here, and get to the place not too late."

Jazmine sighed and started on the trip to Baltimore.

* * *

><p>Huey Freeman did not hate kids.<p>

But when he was sitting in the doctor's office with Cindy, Jazmine, and Riley and little kid, who couldn't be more than three years old was screaming his head off while his again pregnant mother read a damn _People_ magazine, ignoring her child, well, he seriously considered assaulting them both. He was getting a headache.

"I'm going to kill them in two seconds," Huey told Jazmine. He rubbed his temples as Jazmine rubbed his back.

"Can you not do that?" Jazmine asked, smirking. "I don't think I can afford to bail you out." Huey shot her a look. "Okay, I'm sorry for making fun of you while you are in pain."

"Aye!" Cindy finally yelled at the mother after listening to the crying child for two minutes. "Yo kid is crying. Why don't you check on his ass instead of sittin around actin like you can't hear him?"

The woman scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Oh, parenting advice from a pregnant twelve-year-old. That's nice."

"Yeah and when I beat yo stupid ass for neglecting yo kid, you gonna _wish_ you listened to this pregnant twelve-year-old," Cindy snapped back at her. She glared at the mother. "I may be pregnant, but I can still whoop bitches' asses!"

"Cynthia McPherson?" the nurse called out. The group got up and followed her into the back room, but not before Cindy flipped off the other mother. "Step on the scale, please." The nurse opened the chart. "Alright, last time you were here you weighed 118 at nine weeks…" the nurse looked at the scale. "Now, you're at 122."

"Damn, you gained four pounds in three weeks?" Riley asked. Cindy glared at him. "Just a friendly observation. I ain't mean nothin about it, aiight?"

"Hmmph," Cindy scoffed and stepped off the scale and followed the nurse into the room.

"The doctor should be in here shortly." The nurse turned around to exit the room.

"You wouldn't happen to have any pain reliever of some sort on you, would you?" Huey tried to ask the nurse before she left. She didn't hear him and kept going. "I guess I'll take that as a no," he sighed.

"You know they say that sex can relieve a headache," Riley offered. Jazmine glared at him and threw a magazine at his head. "Aye! I was just suggestin stuff! You don't hafta throw shit!"

"You're very stupid, I hope you know that," Jazmine huffed.

"Hey, can I see your phone?" Huey asked while rubbing his temples. She dug into her purse and gave him her phone. "Thanks."

"Are you going to Google if sex can help with headaches?" Jazmine questioned him.

He shrugged and smirked. "Well, it wouldn't hurt to be sure." She snatched her phone back and rolled her eyes. "At least I tried." Someone knocked on the door and the doctor walked in. "First question: Are you allowed to either give me OxyContin, Vicodin, or Percocet?"

She smiled and looked at Huey. "First answer: No I'm not. Second question: Are you an addict to painkillers? Because you named those drugs pretty quick."

"No, I just have a headache."

The doctor sat down to look at Cindy's chart. "You know, they say that sex can help a headache," she said, completely serious. She glanced at Huey, who blinked at her. "I'm kidding, kid. I like to mess with my patients. I usually see a bunch of grumpy adults who don't appreciate my sense of humor."

"I like her," Riley said.

"See? Someone thinks I'm funny," she smiled. She went in her lab coat pocket and pulled a small pack of Advil and threw it at Huey. "Here, this should help you out." The doctor clapped her hands. "Alright, enough of that, let's get down to business. Cynthia—"

"Cindy," everyone in the room corrected.

The doctor chuckled. "Okay, Cindy… my name is Dr. Morris and I'm going to be your doctor today since your regular doctor decided to take a mental health day, er, week in Cabo."

"Cool, she was kinda old anyways."

"That she is," Dr. Morris nodded. "So, it says you gain four pounds since your last visit. That's two pounds over the recommended weight for a person with your height and weeks pregnant. What has your diet consisted of?"

"Anything that she want and could get her pregnant hands on in the shortest amount of time," Riley answered for her. Cindy glared at him. "What? You know it's true."

"Even though you have these weird cravings for food, you have to remember that your baby is getting the nutrients as well," Dr. Morris explained to her. "I suggest that you should start eating more fruits and vegetables and you should only act on your cravings about once a week." Cindy smacked her lips. "I'll try…"

"Alright. Today, we're going to do a sonogram to see if everything's okay, and hopefully we can hear the baby's heartbeat." Cindy lied down on the table and bared her stomach. Dr. Morris turned off the light and got out the ultrasound gel and squeezed a generous amount on the exposed skin.

"Holy balls that's cold!" Cindy yelped.

"Hmm, that's the first time I heard that sentence talking about the gel," Dr. Morris joked. "Don't worry, it'll get warmer soon." She took out the probe and started to even out the gel. "Okay, this is your baby, little lady! As far as I can see, there's nothing wrong with it."

"It's so beautiful," Jazmine acknowledged. She looked over at Huey, who wasn't looking at the screen, but at the newspaper he brought. "Huey, look! That's going to be your niece or nephew!" she smiled. He grunted in response and kept looking down. She rolled her eyes. "Huey, I'm pregnant."

He immediately put the newspaper down. "_What?_" he yelled at her.

"Oh good, now you want to pay attention to what I have to say," she smirked. She turned his face towards the ultrasound machine. "Now, look at the miracle of life, Huey. Isn't it pretty?"

"Yeah," he said hurriedly. "Can I go back to my paper?" She huffed and nodded. He straightened the paper and went back to reading the article. He looked back at Jazmine. "You're not really pregnant, are you?" She punched him in the arm. "Not. Got it."

"Okay, now we're going to listen for the heartbeat. Everyone has to be quiet though, because it won't be very loud," the doctor explained. She searched the stomach and stopped in a specific place. She turned up the volume on the ultrasound and a faint thumping sound filled the room. "This is your baby's heartbeat."

"Oh my God," Cindy said, covering her mouth. She couldn't believe she was hearing her own daughter's or son's heart beating. She felt tears streaming down her face. She felt someone rub her back and turned to see Riley giving a small smile to her. She half-laughed and smile back though her tears. "Thanks," she offered.

"No problem," he replied back.

"I think that's it for the day, don't you think?" Dr. Morris said. She turned on the light and turned off the machine. "So, either I or Dr. Sheldon will see you next month for your four month checkup. Hopefully, it's me." Cindy got up and straightened her shirt. "I'll see you guys later. And kid, I hope you get over your pill addiction!" she yelled to Huey.

"I had a severe headache!" he told Jazmine.

"I know. I believe you."

* * *

><p>On the way home to Woodcrest, the ride was completely silent. The only noise that was in the car was the radio, and even then it was a commercial. Everyone was too overwhelmed by the doctor visit to say anything.<p>

"Jazzy, I'm hungrier than a bitch," Cindy finally said, rubbing her stomach. "I think you should stop somewhere. Preferably McDonalds."

"Didn't the doctor _just_ say you need to eat healthier foods?" Huey asked from the passenger seat. "And now you want to clog your arteries with greasy fast food?"

"Yeah, but I'm hungry now, and there ain't no places that are really too healthy."

"You can always stop at Whole Foods and—"

"You got some Whole Foods money? That place ain't the cheapest market," Cindy told him. Huey threw up his hands in defeat. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Jaz, Mickey Ds and it's one at the next exit. I hear a Big Mac, a large fry, and a large Powerade calling my name."

Jazmine sighed and drove to the fast food joint, going through the drive-thru. She ordered Cindy's Big Mac fix, Riley a Hot and Spicy sandwich with a Coke, herself a medium fry with a lemonade, and Huey nothing because he didn't feel like dying today.

"You better not spill a freaking crumb in my car, got it?" Jazmine scolded when she passed the food back. "I'm looking at you, Riley!" He nodded and grabbed his food.

"I ain't gonna spill nothin," he said. He unwrapped his chicken sandwich and a pickle fell onto the carpet. "Okay, _now_ I ain't gonna spill nothin in yo car."

"I'm seriously thinking about banning you from my car," Jazmine sighed.

"Now, let's not make irrational decisions in here," Riley said, smirking. Jazmine shook her head and continued to drive home. As he ate his lunch, he looked outside the window of the car. He thought about the visit and his baby's heartbeat. His baby. He was having a baby. Him. Riley Samuel Freeman.

"Stop the car," he said.

"What did you say?" Cindy asked, sipping on her drink.

"Stop the car!"

Jazmine slammed on the brakes as fast as she could. The car behind her almost rear ended her if he didn't swerved around to avoid hitting the car. The cars after her started erratically honking at her to get her to move out of the way.

"Um, is there a reason we almost got into a car accident right now, Riley?" Huey asked him, gripping on his shirt.

"I'm… I'm gonna be a dad," he said quietly.

"Jesus Christ!" Jazmine yelled, still holding onto the wheel. "You really decided to have this freaking revelation or epiphany right now, when we could have very well _died_?"

"Can we go home?" Cindy said, her voice shaking. "I'm so scared right now; I could possibly give birth right in this car."

Jazmine sighed and started to drive again.

"I'm having a baby," Riley said quietly, still shaking his head.

"No, you're not allowed to talk!" Huey snapped at him.

"You don't understand, Huey!" Riley said. He felt his eyes watering. "I'm havin a fuckin kid! This is real, man. Some kid is gonna depend on me to be there for him for the rest of his life!" The whole car was silent. "This shit is real man. What the fuck am I supposed to do? What if I'm not good enough?"

"Riley, you're gonna be a great father," Cindy told him.

He wiped his eyes. "You promise?"

"Promise."


	16. A 'Perfect' Valentine's Day

Chapter Sixteen: A "Perfect" Valentine's Day

Huey walked downstairs to get a Red Bull. He had been up all night finishing his essay for his AP World History class that was basically kicking his ass. He looked over to the microwave's clock. It was 12:15 and he was the only one up right now. Jazmine stopped texting him an hour ago, Riley and Cindy fell asleep watching _Baby Boy_ fifteen minutes after that and Granddad… well, he's been asleep since nine. He opened the fridge door and grabbed one can. He knew that the caffeine and sugar mixed together could probably kill him, but hey, he needed a pick me up. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He forgot he brought it with him. He opened it up.

_Jazmine: Open the back door!_

Huey looked outside the back door and saw Jazmine standing there with a smile on her face. He unlocked the door and she dropped her backpack and jumped into his arms. "Happy Valentine's Day, Huey!" she said, planting two kisses on his cheek.

"You do realize it's only been February 14 for about twenty minutes now, right?" Huey asked her, closing the door behind her. He walked back into the kitchen. He popped the top to his Red Bull and started to chug it down.

"Red Bull?" Jazmine questioned him, getting the can away from his lips. "You must be really desperate to stay up to drink this." She was about to take a sip, but Huey swiped it back from her.

"I am, because an essay that's worth 80 percent these six weeks is killing me and I'm nowhere near finished," Huey explained to her. He finished the rest of the can and threw it away in the recycle bin. "I'm stressing the hell out."

Jazmine jumped to sit on the counter next to where Huey was standing. "Maybe you should just calm down," she offered him. He gave the look of "_Is that your best advice?_" to her. She sighed and rolled her eyes. "Alright, come here," she told him. He stood between her legs and looked at her. "Turn around." He did as he was told. She took off his shirt and started to massage his tense shoulders. "Do you feel better?"

He hissed in response and nodded in approval. "God, Jazmine have I ever told you how amazing you are?" She chuckled and went deeper into his knots. He tilted his head back and moaned slightly. "You are starting this Valentine's Day off right."

"Aren't you just glad that I came over?" she smiled.

"Why _did_ you come over anyway?"

"I came to help you with your paper," she told him. She lifted her hands off of Huey and he stretched up. "I think we better get started." Huey went upstairs first and was followed by Jazmine. He walked into his room and turned on the desk light by his computer. "Riley doesn't mind?"

Huey shook his head. "The boy sleeps like a rock," Huey noted. He sat down in his computer chair. "You can pull up a chair from the table." She sat down in his lap. "That works too…"

"Okay, what's your essay about?"

Huey pulled up his essay so far. "I have to compare and contrast two ancient river valley civilizations. Now, the ones I picked were—"

"I'm bored," Jazmine announced. She minimized the essay and opened the photo booth app on his computer. "Let's take a picture together!" she offered. She made funny faces in the camera while Huey closed his eyes. "You didn't open your eyes," she pouted.

"Maybe I should focus on my paper and not stupid pictures!" Huey said in an angry hushed tone.

Jazmine rolled her eyes and opened the essay again. "Okay, I'll help you, but you have to go sit down somewhere else." Huey nodded and got up to sit on his bed. Jazmine started to type and fix his essay. In five minutes, she turned around. "I'm done."

He came and sat under Jazmine. Sure enough, he had an extra page of work. "What did you do?"

"I just changed some words into longer, more sophisticated ones, and extended the contractions, double-spaced it and used 12.5 point font on Times New Roman. It's the same tricks I use for English, and Chemistry," Jazmine smiled. "You're welcome."

Huey gave her a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. Can you look in my book and read me the last paragraph of chapter eight?" Jazmine jumped out of his lap and onto his bed. He scrolled down to the bottom of his essay. "Okay what does it say?" He waited for a response. "Jazmine?" He turned around in his chair to see Jazmine laying on the bed, asleep with her thumb in her mouth and slightly snoring. He sighed and pulled the blanket up to her shoulders.

He went back to his computer and started typing his final paragraph. He yawned and looked at his phone. He decided to sleep for ten minutes before he would wake and finish his essay. He set the alarm for 12:50 and lied his head down next to the keyboard.

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**_

Huey shot up in his seat. He looked over to his alarm clock, where the noise was coming from. It was 5:30 in the morning. He must've slept through his first alarm on his phone. He ran his hand through his hair and stood up. He walked to his bathroom and tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Occupied!" Jazmine yelled muffled. Huey knocked on the door again and she opened the door slightly. "Morning, sleepyhead," she said, holding a bottle of Listerine in her hand.

"I thought you would've gone home," Huey said.

"Nope. Since my bed sheet rope had to be taken apart since my dad got suspicious, I snuck out the old fashion way by the back door," she clarified. "I don't want to sneak in just in case he turned on the alarm again, which I'm pretty sure he did."

Huey shrugged and turned on the shower. He faced her again. "Is that my shirt?" he asked her. She hugged her body and shook her head no. "Do you ever wear your own clothes?"

"Not really," she said, walking out of the room. She went to Cindy's room and knocked on the door. "Good morning, Cindy!" she said cheerily. Cindy opened the door and rubbed her eyes. "Jeez, someone looks happy," Jazmine retorted ironically.

"You do realize it's 5 in the mornin, right?"

Jazmine glanced at her phone. "It's actually 5:35 and yes, I do realize that," she said, tapping on the door. "I need to borrow a clean shirt."

"Weren't you just at yo house?"

"I fell asleep here," she announced. She looked up to see Cindy smirking. "Oh, grow up, McPherson. It wasn't like that. I was helping him with something."

"I know what that somethin was," she smiled. "Bow chicka wow wow."

Jazmine laughed and shook her head. "Isn't just a little too early to be acting like an idiot?" she asked her. Cindy shook her head no. She opened the door wider to let Jazmine in.

"Help yourself. It's not like I can wear any of it anymore," Cindy said, lying back down in her bed. "You can even have that ugly dress my moms bought me in the back of the closet."

Jazmine quickly turned to face her. "Dress?"

"Yeah, it's in the closet. I think it's ugly, but it may be more your—"

"How do I look?" Jazmine asked her, already in the dress and the matching shoes she found in the closet. She twirled around. "Yeah, I think I like this dress."

Cindy blinked. How did she get dressed so fast? "You look cute," she replied. "But you gotta do somethin about that head of yours." Jazmine touched the top of her head. "That one. You look like an orange tree."

"My hair isn't orange!" she said defiantly. "It's a light brown-ish color!"

"Whateva the hell it is, it needs to be tamed," Cindy said, rolling her eyes. She sat on the edge of the bed. "Sit down and let me do something to that thing." She got out a comb, a brush and some products. "And if you scream, imma hit you with my brush. Got it?"

"Fine," Jazmine said timidly.

* * *

><p>Huey couldn't keep his eyes off of her. From when he saw her on the stairs, to when she chewed on her pen top while taking her English test over <em>Catcher in the Rye<em> in first period, he just would not stop staring at her. And he knew other people couldn't either. When he walked her to her Geometry class, he could see boys looking at Jazmine as she walked down the hallway. Ever since then, he always was two steps behind her in case some bold nigga forgot they went out and wanted to make a move with her.

"Huey, why are you walking so close to me?" Jazmine asked him, stopping at her locker before fifth period French. He shrugged and continued to look around like a bodyguard. "Are you jealous that boys want to talk to me because I look sexy today? Then again, you're even protective of me even if I decided to wear a hoodie and sweatpants."

He couldn't argue with her. "I'm not jealous of nobody," he said, looking around the hallway. He turned his head to see Rashad walking this way, with something in his hand. Really? This nigga wanted to try him today? Apparently he did. "Speaking of nobodies…"

Jazmine rolled her eyes and faced Rashad as he called her name. "Hi, Rashad!" she said cheerily.

"Hey, Jazmine," he returned to her. He looked at Huey. "Hey Freeman!"

Huey nodded at him and walked towards his class. "I'll see you in class, Jazmine." He made eye contact with her and gave her a look. She sighed and watched him go inside the room.

"Um, listen," Rashad started. "I never got to thank you for getting us an A on our World History project, so I know you like chocolate and everything, and I happened to see this at the store, so I got this for you." He pulled out a dark red heart-shaped box from behind his back.

"Thank you!" she said. She couldn't resist chocolate, especially on Valentine's Day.

"Make sure your boy Huey doesn't take this the wrong way or anything. It's a thank you gift, alright?" he said. She nodded happily and skipped to class. She opened the box and looked at each candy.

"So, he got you chocolate," Huey said when she sat down.

She sighed. "It isn't what you think it is, Huey."

He scoffed. "Please, indulge me in what it actually is. Because, to me, it looks like the dude was trying to get brownie points with you by getting a heart-shaped chocolate box on _Valentine's Day_. But obviously you know his intentions."

"It's a gift for the project we worked on together," she explained to him. She picked up a white chocolate piece and popped it in her mouth.

"The nigga could have a gotten a damn chocolate bar if he wanted to say thanks," Huey retorted.

"At least he got me something," she snapped back. "What did you give me?" She closed her mouth and shook her head. "I… I didn't mean it to come out like that."

Huey turned back to face forward. She huffed and put another random piece in her mouth. "That one is coconut, which you hate," Huey stated from in from of her. She chewed and forcibly swallowed the candy.

"Shut up, you don't have to know everything," she said, smiling a little.

Huey grunted and focused on his workbook. As he finished his page, he tried to think of things that he could do for Valentine's tonight. He couldn't go to a restaurant; they would all be reserved. He could cook her a romantic dinner. It was perfect. Granddad would be out of the house on his own Facebook date, so that means the boys would have the house to themselves, Riley could cook something for Cindy and Jazmine wouldn't think he planned it last minute. He was actually surprised that he thought of the plan.

"Hi Huey!" Clarissa said from behind him. He rolled his eyes and continued to look at his plan, trying to find a fault. "Happy Valentine's Day!"

"Eh," he said, wanting for her to go away.

"I made you a card," she said sweetly. She placed the red card on his desk. "I hope you like it!"

The bell for lunch rang. Huey got up. "I left your card in my locker. Stay right here, I'm going to go get it for you." He grabbed his backpack and headed out the door behind Jazmine.

She smiled. "You didn't really get her a card, did you?"

"You know me so well."

* * *

><p>Jazmine walked out of the dressing room wearing a short, poufy ugly red dress. She struck a pose as Cindy stared at her. "How do I look?" she asked her.<p>

"You look like an idiot," Cindy shrugged. Jazmine huffed and shut the door again. "What? You wanted my opinion and I gave it you. Don't be mad 'cause you look stupid as fuck."

"Ugh, I've tried on four dresses already and I've gotten 'stupid', 'ratchet', 'ugly', and 'good God, what the heck do you have on?'" Jazmine sighed. "I just wanna get out of this store and eat."

"You said that three times already," Cindy snapped. She waved her hand. "Just put on the last damn dress, and then we can go feed you and me and mini me."

Jazmine sighed dramatically and slipped out of the dress. At first, Cindy wanted to go to the mall for some earrings, but it soon turned into dress shopping because Cindy suspected that Huey was planning something for her.

"How do you know he's planning anything anyway?" Jazmine asked, slipping into the last dress. "He doesn't even like celebrating Valentine's Day. He says that the holiday was only invented so that companies could squeeze people out of their money by making them believe that their significant other doesn't love them if they don't buy them flowers or candy."

"That nigga been rubbin off on you," Cindy noticed. "Are you ready yet? I've been out here for damn near thirty minutes!" Cindy huffed and tapped her fingernails on the chair.

"Alright, alright," Jazmine said, unlocking the latch on the door. She walked out of the room and looked at Cindy. Her dress was one shouldered and silver, and it stopped just above the knees. The silky fabric was loose and it twirled when she spun. "Well? Does this one look good enough for you?"

"Eh…" Cindy commented. Jazmine rolled her eyes and was about to walk back into the dressing room. "No, I was just kidding! It looks fine! Just buy it so I can get the fuck outta here."

Jazmine quickly got dressed and put the dress on the hanger. She walked to the front and paid for her dress and walked out. "Food. Now," she commanded, guiding Cindy to the food court. Cindy turned her head and saw a store she wanted to go in. She pulled Jazmine's arm and dragged her inside. "Where are we going?"

"Change of plans," she quickly said. They walked through the store, looking at the items. Well, Cindy was looking around. Jazmine was wide eyed, mortified by the things she saw on the shirts. Cindy picked up one of the maternity shirts. She showed it to Jazmine.

Jazmine lowered her eyes. "I would never talk to you if you had on that shirt. We wouldn't be friends anymore," she answered.

"What you talkin about, Jazzy? I think it's funny." Cindy read the shirt. "'If you think my moms a bitch, wait till you meet me.' You don't find that hilarious?" she asked her.

"No!" she retorted. She rubbed her arm. "What is this place anyways? It's really weird and it kinda makes me feel uncomfortable."

"_Spencer's_."

She shook her head. "This place is really obscene and I feel like it's robbing me of my innocence," she stated. Cindy shot her a look, unconvinced. Jazmine thought about it. "Okay, well, this place is robbing me of any innocence I have left."

Cindy scoffed. "Please, you ain't have innocence since November." They walked further into the store. Cindy was looking through the racks while Jazmine pretended to be enthused with her phone. Cindy pulled out a black corset and a miniskirt that goes with it. "Here, put this on." Jazmine stared at it. "What?"

"Where's the rest of it?"

Cindy rolled her eyes and shoved the clothes in her hands. "Stop being a fuckin goody-goody and put on the damn clothes." Jazmine pouted and went inside the dressing room. "If you can act like a slut in the bed, then you wear slutty clothes."

"Oh _hell_ no!" she yelled from behind the door. She opened the door and walked outside. "Cindy, I look like a whore straight off the streets of New York!"

"Damn," she muttered out. She whistled and nodded her head. "Y'know, if I was into girls like that and I wasn't pregnant, I would definitely tap that yellow ass."

Jazmine let out a deep breath. "As much as I appreciate the lesbian comment, I can't go anywhere looking like this! And I don't even think Huey's going to like me looking like this."

"I'll tell you what," Cindy offered. "Let's make a deal. We gon take a picture of you. If he likes it, then you gonna buy it and rock his cold world. If he doesn't like it, then I'll let you give me a makeover."

Jazmine tapped her chin. She was pretty sure Huey didn't like girls who dressed like sluts; he said it once before. And she's been wanting to makeover Cindy since they've been friends. "Fine."

Cindy walked into the dressing room with Jazmine and she grabbed Jazmine's phone. "Alright, try to look sexy." Jazmine sighed and gave her sexiest pose. "Damn, like you seriously makin me reconsider," she smirked.

"Shut up and take the picture," Jazmine smiled. Cindy shrugged and snapped the picture and sent it to her hubby. "What if he doesn't like the picture?"

"He will."

She shook her head. "But what if he thinks I look really slutty and breaks up with because I look like a slut?"

"He won't."

"But what if he thinks I'm—"

Cindy put up her hands. "Jazmine!" she snapped. "Are you always this paranoid? He's not gonna break up with you. Calm yo crazy half-black ass down." The phone in her hand vibrated and she looked at her text. She sighed. "Looks like you going home with what you wearin."

Jazmine grabbed her phone to see for herself. He actually _liked_ what she had on?

_RECEIVED 5:11- Hubby: You should wear that more often._

He did. "He… he liked it," Jazmine said lightly. Her cheeks started to redden. She quickly clicked reply and typed out a message.

"I think you need to change out so we can go," Cindy suggested. Jazmine nodded and shooed her out. "Aye, since you gotta get your stuff for yo boo, you wanna get the shirt fo me?"

"Not really!" she yelled.

* * *

><p>"So what are we doin again?"<p>

Huey rolled his eyes. He explained it twice earlier: once after Cindy left the house, and again when they were on the way to the store. "I'm going to cook Jazmine dinner for Valentine's Day." He got out his granddad's car and locked the door.

"Because you ain't make a reservation somewhere like a normal nigga?"

"No, because I don't believe in Valentine's Day," he answered. He pulled out his phone and opened the list he made earlier. "The so-called holiday was created by the card makers who wanted to invent another day that would basically force people to—"

"Aiight, aiight!" Riley said, shaking her head. "I ain't ask fo no lecture. A simple no woulda been okay."

"Whatever," he retorted. He started to read his list. "We need noodles, ground beef, pasta sauce, onions, garlic, parsley, garlic bread, and Parmesan cheese. Plus the stuff Granddad needs."

"Wait… why am I here?" Riley asked. He had a long day of doing nothing on the couch and avoid doing his homework ahead of him.

"Because, dummy," he started, grabbing a cart. "Did you get anything for your pregnant girlfriend, or ex-girlfriend, or whatever the hell you consider her?" Riley went silent. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

Riley sucked his teeth. "Whateva nigga."

Huey rolled his eyes and pushed his cart to the produce aisle. He picked out the things he needed and placed them in the cart. "Hey, text Cindy and ask her if she needs anything from the store."

Riley nodded and went his pocket to dig for his phone, but didn't find it. He remembered that he left it on the charger by his bed… at his house. "Damn, can I borrow yo phone?"

"Yeah," he said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and handing it to Riley.

Riley slid his brother's old ass phone up to show the keyboard. He was about to look for Cindy's number, but saw he saw Huey had a new text from Jazmine. He pressed open and stared at the picture of his brother's girlfriend… looking fine as hell. He smirked as he texted a reply. He was pretty sure that Huey would appreciate it in the long run. He laughed a little.

"What are you doing?" Huey asked him. Riley put the phone behind his back. "Give me my phone back!" he yelled at him.

"Wait!" he stopped Huey before he attacked him. "Before you want to kill me, you should prolly look at this picture at Jazzy on yo phone." Huey raised his eyebrows and got his phone back. He stared at the picture. "You aiight, bro?"

"Yeah, just… just give me a minute."

Riley snickered. "Looks like you need five, my nigga."

"More like seven," Huey corrected. His eyes blinked when he got another message from her. He also saw that there was a reply from him… that wasn't from him. "You responded to her?" he asked his brother. Riley shrugged.

_Jazmine: So really like it? I'm buying it right now. ;)_

Huey's face flushed. He had to admit, she looked good. I mean, _really_ good. Like, damn, her body was banging.

"Yo, kid. I know you like reminiscin about Jazzy and all and thinkin about her naked and shit," Riley started, waving his hand in front of his older brother's face. "But I don't wanna be in this bitch for three fuckin hours."

Huey snapped out of the trance he was in and fell back into reality. He cleared his throat and continued to shop, only a little… okay a _lot_ faster than before. He wanted to get home as quick as possible. He paid for the groceries and loaded them into the car. They both got in the car and started to go home.

"Look at you, nigga. You is lookin mighty happy ova there," Riley said, laughing at Huey. "Maybe even excited."

Huey smirked and turned onto Timid Deer Lane. "I'm not happy or excited."

"You l_yin_, nigga!" Riley jokingly shot back. He pointed to his face. "See that? That, my brother, is a smile. You is smilin right now. You can't tell me you ain't happy." Riley started to dance in his seat. "Huey gonna get some ass tonight! Huey gonna get some ass tonight! Huey gonna get some ass tonight!" he sung, getting out of the car.

"Huey gonna get some what?" Granddad asked, walking outside to the house and towards the car.

The boys exchanged a look and then turned to their grandfather. "Gas!" Huey said quickly. "I'm going to get gas for your car because it's the courteous thing to do after using it. I just came to put the groceries up before I left."

"Shoot, you better go fill up my car after you use it. I gots me a hot date tonight. Ain't gon have stranded in the middle of the damn highway. Shit, what I look like?" he said, taking some groceries out of the back and taking them inside.

Huey sighed and took some of the bags inside the house, but not before shooting a glare in the direction of Riley. When all the bags were in the house, he pointed at Riley. "Let's go," he announced.

"What you mean? Why I gotta go?"

"Because, you idiot, you were the one who made me have to go get gas anyways, so you're going with me." Huey walked to the car with Riley slowly following him. "Any other questions?"

"Nah."

"Good let's go."

—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—-—

Huey stood by the pump and waited for the tank to fill up. He sighed. He didn't want to pay four dollars for one gallon of gas. That was fucking ridiculous. He looked over at the door of the convenience store. "Aww, shit."

"What?" Riley asked, standing next to him.

"It's that dude Rashad," he said annoyed. "He pisses me off so much and I think he knows it. He's way, way, _way_, too friendly with Jazmine. I hope he doesn't notice me."

"I don't think he gonna miss you with that big ass afro on yo head," Riley explained to him.

"Hey Huey!" Rashad yelled.

Huey inwardly cursed and turned toward Rashad. "Hi," he simply said before turning back to the pump.

"Is this yo car, man?" he asked, looking at the back.

"No."

"Oh," he nodded. "I was just wonderin, since I always see you in the car with Jazmine after school." He coughed. "Speakin of Jazmine, what y'all doin for Valentine's Day? Did she like the chocolates I got her?"

He turned back to him. "I think that falls under the category of none of your damn business," he retorted.

Rashad huffed. "Dang, I was just askin. Y'know, I really don't see what Jazmine sees in yo ass anyways."

Huey lifted his eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Rashad scoffed. "You heard me nigga. Like Jazmine is like really nice and shit and you a fuckin hater. I think she would much happier with me and _much_ more satisfied with me."

Huey jerked forward but was pulled back from his shirt by Riley. "He ain't even worth it, Huey," he said simply. Huey closed his eyes and tried to count to ten. Even though Huey wasn't exactly a nigga, there was, however, five situations that would put him in a nigga moment. Three of those situations had to do with Jazmine.

Talking about how much Jazmine would be happier with you? That's one.

Talking about how much Jazmine would be "satisfied"? That's two.

"Yeah, you should listen to yo brother, Huey," Rashad joked. He stepped a little closer. "I would hate for you to catch a case." Huey growled lowly. "There's one thing you should know, my nigga. When she was sittin in fourth period this morning with the low cut dress?" Rashad shook and laughed. "She gonna have a nigga _dreamin_ tonight!"

Thinking about Jazmine in a sexual way? That's three.

"On second thought," Riley started, letting go of his brother. "That nigga gets whateva comin his way." Huey jumped over the pump and ran toward Rashad. "Get that nigga!" Riley watched as Huey landed on top of the dude and started to pound on Rashad. He started to laugh. He loved to see a good fight from time to time. He was too busy watching the one-sided fight to hear the sirens coming their way until they pulled up next to Dorothy. "Ooh, that can't be good," he said as the policemen got out the car.

* * *

><p>Jazmine parked her car in her driveway. She turned off her ignition and started to grab things that she bought at the mall. She placed her lingerie bag inside of her dress bag, just in case her dad wanted to bet suspicious and look to see what she bought. "That was a nice trip," she announced to Cindy.<p>

Cindy nodded. "Hells yeah!" She wiggled her toes in the plastic sandals they give her at the nail salon. "And the manicures and pedicures were a nice touch. My feet needed that kinda TLC on them."

Jazmine laughed and got out of the car. She stretched up and began to walk to the front door. She turned around again to Cindy. "Are you still kicked out? Because if so, you can stay here until you can go back."

"Yeah, lemme text Riley and ask him."

Jazmine went back to her car and stood next to Cindy as she got out her phone. Jazmine stared over to the Freemans' residence, wondering what was being planned over there. Her train of thought was broken as she saw Dorothy clumsily come up the driveway next door. "Who's driving that car?" she asked Cindy, although she was pretty sure Cindy didn't know anything.

"Has to be Huey or Mr. Freeman. Riley ain't got a license," she said, looking up. They both watched as Riley stumbled out of the driver's seat. "Well, never mind then."

Riley looked over to the girls and immediately started running in their direction. "Jazmine!" he yelled over and over again. When he reached Jazmine and Cindy, he put his hands on his knees and started to breathe heavily. "Jazmine… you need… to go… to the…"

"Okay, one? Calm down and catch your breath," Jazmine instructed. Riley nodded and started to control his breathing. Once he stood up straight, he took one last deep breath in and let it out slowly. "Are you okay now?" Riley nodded. "Okay, what are you talking about?"

"Huey got arrested for beatin up a nigga in the parkin lot of the gas station down tha street," he said quickly. Jazmine gulped and blinked her eyes. "Mariah, are you okay? I don't really need you dyin on me right now."

"Great, nigga you sent her in a catatonic state!" Cindy yelled, shaking her head.

"What that mean?"

"It means she in shock right now," Cindy explained.

Jazmine cleared her throat and walked to the driver's side of the car. "I'm… I'm going to my room."

Riley and Cindy exchanged a look and looked back at Jazmine. "You ain't gonna see what happen to him?" Riley asked her.

Jazmine started to breathe heavily and she felt tears start to form in her eyes. "I… think… I need to be alone right about now. Plus, I think Mr. Freeman is going now," she pointed out. They turned to look down the street to see Granddad staring down Riley.

"Boy! If you don't get yo narrow ass over here with my damn keys! We need to go get yo dumbass brother!" he yelled. Riley sighed and started to jog back home.

"Stay strong, Jazzy," Cindy said. She gave her a hug and ran next to Riley.

Jazmine went inside her house, carrying all her bags, and went upstairs to her room. She dropped her clothes by the door. She fell on her bed and looked up at her ceiling. "FUCK!" she screamed as loud as she could with tears streaming down her eyes. So much for any plans they had.

* * *

><p>Jazmine walked down the stairs and looked at her microwave. 1:37. She sighed. She was actually starting to get use to meeting in the middle of the night. She grabbed her keys from the bowl and went outside. She looked at her car, and noticed that the light was already on and Huey was sitting in the back seat. She rolled her eyes and ran to her car.<p>

"So, you break into cars now that you're a criminal, huh?" Jazmine asked jokingly.

"More like I just opened the door since you left it unlocked… again," he answered, looking forward. He shifted in seat.

"How was your stint in the slammer?" Jazmine asked him giggling.

"Is my incarceration now a joke to you?" Huey smirked. "You're not crying because I could've been raped?"

Jazmine shrugged. "But you're here now, right?" she told him, twisting her curls on her finger. "It's no point in crying if you're here in front of me. Although, our day is kinda ruined…"

"Yeah, I was going to bring I made for you, but niggas got to it first," Huey said. He rubbed his neck and sighed. "Listen, I'm really so that I did something so—" His thoughts were interrupted when Jazmine scooted into his lap and lightly placed her lips onto his. After a few seconds, she tried to pull away, but pulled her back closer to him. "I missed that while I was inside."

Jazmine giggled. "How long were you in there? Two hours?"

"An hour and a half. I had to wait on Granddad to sign me out."

She smiled and then looked away from him. "Huey…"

He sighed. "I know."

"And you could've…"

"I know."

"And I would've been…"

"I _know_."

"As long as you know," she said. She slapped his chest. "You better not get arrested ever again, Huey Freeman!"

"I don't plan on it," he scoffed. He looked over to her, who was waiting on a real promise. "I promise, Jazmine Dubois," he started. "To never…" he gave her a kiss on her shoulder. "ever…" he gave her a kiss on her neck. "_ever_…" he finished with a kiss on the cheek. "Get arrested. Is that better?"

"Uh-huh," she moaned out. She put one finger up and she climbed over to the front seat to put her keys in the ignition. She turned it to where the radio could come on, but the engine stayed off.

_I'll give you anything you want from me anything you want anything you need  
>anything your soul desires<br>I'll give you anything you want from me anything you want anything you need  
>anything your soul desires<em>

_Your love is a one in a million it goes on and on and on  
>you give me a really good feelin all day long.<br>Your love is a one in a million it goes on and on and on  
>you give me a really good feelin all day long.<em>

"You know, I'm starting to think this is our song," Jazmine told Huey, tapping her finger on her chin. Her face started to brighten up. "Aww, we have a song now!"

"If you say so," Huey said.

_Alright Ladies and Gents, that was Aaliyah with "One in a Million". Ooh, that song gets me in the mood every time. Happy Valentine's Night to all my lovers in the building tonight. I'm trying to give you the sexiest songs to make your night extra… special. Let me hit you with that old "Nice and Slow" by the talented Usher._

"Did you know I used to be in love with this song?" Jazmine asked him, making patterns on his chest with her manicured finger. "I would sing it all the time when I was three, even though I didn't understand it."

Huey half-laughed. "Even the 'I'll freak you right' part?"

"Especially that part."

_Let me take you to a place nice and quiet  
>There ain't no one there to interrupt<br>Ain't gotta rush  
>I just want to take it nice and slow<em>

Jazmine closed her eyes and softly sung the words as she laid her head on Huey's chest. He stroked her hair as he listened to his girlfriend sing. He was thrown off guard when he saw lightning in the background, followed by the thunder, which made Jazmine jump.

"You okay?" Huey asked her, holding her a little tighter.

"Yeah," she let out. "I'm gonna head inside before it starts to rain." She looked up at Huey, who had his eyes closed. Thinking about it, Jazmine decided that this position was way much better than being inside.


	17. Congrats! It's a Question Mark!

_**A/N: **[Enter crappy excuse for not updating so much] Yeah, I know, I know. I couldn't even think of a good excuse so put in your favorite one in the blank. (It'll probably be a good one too...) Anywho, I have an announcement located at the end of this fic. I would like it if you would read it first, but if your excitement is just taking over you, I would blame if you go look down there real quick. (It's okay, I'll wait.)_

Okay! Now that you're back (or if you stayed here the whole time, though I don't think anyone did,) here's chapter 17!

Chapter Seventeen: Congrats, It's a Question Mark!

Jazmine flipped the hood up on her Hollister hoodie to protect her from the wind and started to run to her favorite spot in the world. The backpack on her back banged against her, but she didn't really care. She was going to see her favorite person at her favorite spot.

Five minutes in, she stopped to take a breather by a lamp post. She put her hands on her knees and took in deep breaths. Was she really this out of shape? She may have been skinny, but athleticism wasn't a very strong point of hers. She stood up straight and began running again.

Another five minutes passed and finally reached the bottom of the hill. She wanted to lie down right where she was but she was so close to her destination. She sighed and slowly trudged up the side of the hill.

"What took you so long?" Huey asked when he finally saw the top of Jazmine's head.

"I ran… here," she tiredly said. She dropped to her knees and started to crawl towards Huey. He shook his head.

"You are really unhealthy, Jazmine," Huey said, pulling her backpack off of her back.

"You're face… is unhealthy," she retorted breathlessly. She placed her head in his lap and closed her eyes.

"Oh, that one was a good comeback. You should write that one down and use it for later," he snorted sarcastically. Huey grabbed the newspaper that was beside him and opened it. "How did Tom let you go?"

She yawned. "I told him that I was going to Cindy's and that I was going to walk since I need to lose a few pounds. He totally bought it." She looked at Huey, who was already looking at her. "What?"

"Oh… nothing."

She stood up and giggled. "You were trying to sneak a look at me!" She put her hand on her hip. "Is it because I'm too _sexy_ to be ignored? Or is it because I'm graceful… like a ballerina?" she smiled. She twirled twice before slipping on her own feet and falling into Huey's lap. "Okay, maybe not graceful."

"You're definitely something, Dubois," he finally answered. She looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek. "What was that for?"

She shrugged and lied back down. "I don't know. It was for being Huey Freeman. I think you should be rewarded for being a good Huey."

"Can I be rewarded again for being Huey?" he asked her.

"You can be more than rewarded," she smiled, snuggling into his neck. She looked back at him. "I love you."

She loved him. It was as simple as that. Three little simple words that meant so much to him. He tilted his head up towards the sky. It was a beautiful day outside; the clouds were finally gone, and for once, he truly appreciated it. And for the first time in a long time, he smiled.

"Oh my God. Is that what I think it is?" Jazmine asked him.

"What?" he replied, confused.

She sat up. "You… you actually smiled," she said at a loss for words. She jumped out of his lap. "You smiled! And not one of those smirks you do. You smiled! I made you smile! I made Huey smile!"

"It's not that big a deal," he answered, slightly blushing.

"Not a big deal? I've been trying to get you to smile since we were ten! This is a very big accomplishment for me. It's like I fulfilled a lifelong dream of mine."

"You don't have many lifelong dreams, do you?" he joked.

"Oh, ha ha. You can be as sarcastic as you want to be, but you still won't ruin my moment, so ha!" she said back, sticking her tongue out.

"Okay, fine. You caught me smiling. Are you happy now?"

"No, no, no! This is an epic event! People need to know about this!" she squealed. She turned to Woodcrest. "I have to… I have to put this on Facebook, Tweet about this." she turned back to Huey. "My blog _needs_ to hear about this! I need a computer!" She quickly started to run down the side of the hill.

"Jazmine! No! Those people do not need to know that!" he yelled, running after her. "Jazmine! Come back!" Huey went back up the hill and grabbed the backpack she carelessly forgot to get. As he walked down the hill, he assumed that she would come back when she realized her mistake. He walked about a block before he heard…

"Hand it over!"

His eyes locked onto Jazmine running over to him, lightly out of breath. She stopped in front of him and stared straight into his maroon eyes with her jade ones. She stuck her hand out as if she was a kid that wanted candy.

"What?" he asked her, playing dumbfounded. He held up her backpack. "Is this what you want?" She nodded. "I don't know if I can give it back to you yet, Miss Blogger," he taunted. "I think I'm going to keep this until I deem you worthy."

"Y'know I was just kidding about the whole 'I'm gonna post it you smiling on the Internet' thing," she said, walking behind him. "It was a joke, Huey I would never do that!"

"You weren't kidding."

Jazmine was silent for a minute. "Okay, fine, I wasn't kidding, but don't you think you should show people that you actually are a human being with an emotional side instead of a soulless monster who beats people up for no reason?"

"Do people actually think that about me?" he questioned her.

"Well, only Rashad's sister said those exact words, but she got fifteen likes on it!"

He stopped on the sidewalk and turned towards her. "Jazmine, I honestly don't give a fuck what other people say about me. The only person's opinion I care about is yours," he told her seriously. "Do you think I'm a soulless monster?"

"Well…" she started, trailing off. Huey frowned and turned around to walk again. "No, I'm just kidding!" she giggled, running up to him and wrapped her arms around his right arm. "You're the most wonderful person I've ever met. Honestly."

"You're not bad yourself," he answered, unlocking his front door.

"All I get is a 'you're not bad'?" she pouted, closing the door behind her. "That's it?"

"What do you want me to say?" he inquired. "Do you want me to say… that you're the prettiest girl I've laid eyes on?" He moved slowly to her and wrapped his hands around her waist. "That my whole day gets up a hundred times better whenever I'm around you? Or that you're the only one who can make me smile?"

She nodded.

"Do I have to repeat it? Because that was pretty long."

She laughed and shook her head no. "But you can smile again."

He replied to her remark with a long kiss. "I'll think about it," he sighed, giving Jazmine a glimmer of hope.

"Aww, young love. Ain't it just so cute?"

Huey and Jazmine broke apart and turned towards the front door. "Hi Cindy," they both answered at the same time.

"Don't stop because of us! You can go back to yo little lovey-dovey fest now," she smirked. Jazmine scooted farther away from Huey and blushed. Cindy shook her head and walked to the kitchen. "Y'all been going out for the longest and y'all still get embarrassed."

"What happened at the doctor's office?" Jazmine asked, quickly changing the subject and following behind her. "Do you finally know what you're gonna have?"

"Nope," she said proudly.

"No?" she repeated, puzzled.

She pulled out an envelope and handed it to Jazmine. "_We_ won't know, but you can." Jazmine quickly ripped open the envelope to see the surprise and started to tear up.

"Cindy!" she squealed.

Cindy covered her ears. "Lalalalalalala!" she yelled. "Spoiler alert, girl! Don't tell me; I want it to be a surprise!"

"Where's Riley?" Huey asked, coming into the kitchen. Jazmine smiled at him. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She gave the letter to him. He read it and handed it back. "Cool. Where's Riley?" he asked again. "He needs to clean up his side of the room because it smells like feet."

"Aren't you excited about your nephew?" she questioned him. She looked over to Cindy. "Nephew or niece?" she corrected herself. Cindy shot her a look. "Sorry," she offered.

"I'm ecstatic. Now about Riley…"

"He went to the store with Mr. Freeman," Cindy told him. She opened up the refrigerator. "I'm hungry as hell. One of y'all wanna cook me something?"

"No," Huey said bluntly.

"Not really, Cindy," Jazmine told her.

"Aye, y'all make a pregnant girl put in some work? Someone that shouldn't be on her feet all day? Someone who shouldn't… y'all aren't listening anymore are y'all?"

"No," Huey repeated.

"Not really, Cindy," Jazmine said, looking down at her nails.

Cindy huffed and pulled out some cereal. "I guess I'll eat this."

"Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I'm going to steal my girlfriend back from you," Huey said, grabbing for Jazmine's hand. He looked at her. "I have to go show her something upstairs."

"Whateva nigga," Cindy retorted with a mouthful of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and milk muffling her speech. "You know you full of shit 'cuz you ain't gon show her nothing… But imma let that shit slide, tho."

Huey smirked and took Jazmine down the hall. He saw Granddad and Riley coming through the front door. "Hi Granddad. Bye Granddad," he said quickly, heading up the stairs with Jazmine in tow.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" he shouted, stopping the couple in their tracks. They turned towards him. "And where are you two little horny teenagers goin?" he sternly asked.

"Upstairs," Huey simply answered, turning back around.

"To do what?"

Huey sighed. "To play a game."

"What game?"

"Does it really matter?" Huey groaned.

"If the game is 'Make another great-grandbaby for Robert J. Freeman,' then hell yeah it matters!" he hollered. He pushed Riley. "Boy, go upstairs and watch them to make sure they not doin anything nasty."

"Aww, what?" Riley complained. "Granddad, I don't wanna go up there with them! They might lock me up in the closet."

"We could just stay down here," Jazmine offered. Granddad nodded and walked to the kitchen. Huey shot her a look. "It's a better solution than having your brother upstairs, isn't it?" Huey grumbled something under his breath. "I'll make it up, alright?"

"Yeah?" he inquired, moving closer.

"Yeah," she nodded slowly, biting her lower lip.

"Huey!" Granddad yelled. Huey inwardly groaned and went back downstairs. This was cockblocking at its finest.

* * *

><p>Jazmine stared at Huey intensely. She watched every move he made. She saw as his right eyebrow twitch, she saw as he licked his lips and she saw as his left finger tickled her right palm. She knew he was about to make a move. She swiftly pulled her hands close to her chest as Huey swatted at the air.<p>

"Ha! Didn't I tell you that you couldn't beat me at this game?" she cheered. She did the celebratory booty dance in her seat. Huey grumbled something under his breath. "Aww, what's wrong? Are you mad that you're not the best at something?"

"I still have another try," he protested.

"Baby," she said sweetly. "No. No you don't." She giggled a little. "We've already played ten times the first round, and another five times. It's okay though. You _do _have to give me my turn now."

Huey sighed and held his hands out, palms down and Jazmine placed her hands under his. She watched him again. She smirked. She can even feel him squirm in his seat. His hands flinched twice already and it hasn't even been a minute yet. Nope, make that three flinches.

"Are you going to actually do something or are we going to keep looking at each other?" he asked, getting restless.

"Huey, this is an art for me," she started, rolling her eyes. "I have to find the perfect moment before I—" she slapped his hands before he could even think about moving them out the way. "Can even think about beating you." She smiled widely.

"Whatever," he said, trying to get off of his bed.

"Uh-uh," she said, pulling him back to the bed. "My prize, Mr. Freeman." He sat back down and pulled her closer to his body. "Ooh," she answered seductively. He put a small kiss on her lips that made her heart flutter.

"This is actually cute. Unfortunately, I have to break up this very, very touching scene," Cindy said, standing by the door. She walked up to the side of the bed. "C'mon Jazmine."

"What? Where are we going?" she asked, standing up.

"Away."

Jazmine pouted. "That's a really bad excuse, Cindy." Cindy glared at her. "Alright, alright. I'm right behind you." Jazmine gave Huey a sad look and mouthed an apology. She followed Cindy back to her room and closed the door. "You better have a good reason for this, McPherson."

She shrugged. "Just one thing and I'll let you go back to fucking your boyfriend. What is in my stomach right now? I am sick of not knowing."

Jazmine put a finger on her chin. "Okay well, for dinner you had three slices of pizza with hot sauce and a side of ice cream…"

Cindy groaned. "Not my _actual _stomach, you loser. I'm talking about my baby. You are the only person in the whole wide world who knows what it is and I need you to tell me right now!"

"Okay, calm down crazy hormonal lady," she said, putting her hands up. "One, I'm not the only one who knows. Your doctor knows, and Huey knows. Two, every time you want me to tell you something that you wanted me to keep from you, you always get mad after the fact!"

"I do not!"

Jazmine scoffed. "When you made me keep the grade you made on that test last year? You thought that you totally bombed it and you didn't want to see it?" she reminded her. "You slapped me when I said you got an 84!"

"That was one time!"

"Or the time you wrote the love letter to Riley and he told me what he thought about it?" she retorted, jogging her memory. Cindy huffed. "You screamed at me after I couldn't take your whining anymore. Then you called him up!"

"This is something bigger than a stupid test or a fuckin love letter!" she sighed. "This is a baby… _my _baby. That's inside of me right now. This is serious Jazmine."

Jazmine looked away. She sighed and turned back to Cindy. "No."

Cindy flared her nostrils. "Well, you're not leaving this room until you tell me so ha! I know you can't resist a little canoodling with freaky Freeman over there. You wouldn't last three minutes."

Jazmine blinked. "Canoodling?"

"Shut up! It's late!" she said. "Now are you going to tell me or not?"

"Or not," Jazmine said simply. She walked over to the bed and got inside. "Believe me; this is mostly for your good."

"Yeah whatever," Cindy answered, climbing into bed next to her. "And you betta remember I ain't Huey, so don't you dare snuggle yo ass close to me!"

"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks."

* * *

><p><em>Jazmine let out one last breath as she looked over herself one last time in the mirror before straightening up. She smoothed down the ends of her white dress and gave her reflection a smile. "Today is the day."<em>

_There was a knock on the door and an usher opened up. "They're ready for you, Ms. Dubois," she announced. She laughed a little, earning a look from Jazmine. "That'll be the last time you'll hear that name, huh?"_

_Jazmine laughed also and sighed. "Hopefully."_

"_I'm sure you two will live happily ever after, just like in fairy tales."_

_This made Jazmine think back to when Huey told her that fairy tale didn't exist and that real life doesn't end up anything like the stories. She smiled. "Happily ever after," she whispered. Jazmine walked out of the small room designated for her to finish up her little touchups. She saw her dad in the front of the big church door. She let out a big breath and linked arms with Tom. "You spared no expense, did you?"_

"_Fortunate for me, you didn't want to be very huge. You went very modest," he retorted._

"_No, _Huey_ wanted to have be modest," she corrected him. "I _wanted_ to be huge, really big. Like Kate Middleton and Prince William big."_

"_Thank God you didn't have a say," he said. She pouted at him. He gave her a kiss on the forehead. "I'm so proud of you, honey. He's perfect for you." _

_She smiled and got ready for the ushers to open the door. When she heard the familiar tune bellow in the foyer, she knew a new chapter of her life was beginning. The doors swung open and Tom and Jazmine made her way down the aisle._

_If she wasn't holding onto her dad, she probably would have frozen right in the middle of her tracks. Thankfully, her tight grip helped her keep moving. She looked to her left, to her side of the family. Aunts, uncles, cousins and friends she didn't really remember. Then, she saw her mother, standing by herself, giving Jazmine a sheepish wave._

"_Hi," she mouthed to her mom. She looked over to the right, to Huey's side of the family. She has only seen most of them in pictures, specifically the large one in the living room of his house. She finally saw Riley and Cindy sitting in the front pew, holding both of their young children. Granddad was also standing next to them, looking at Jazmine._

_Jazmine finally looked forward and him standing in front of her, his back to her. Her knight in shining armor on their biggest day and he wasn't even looking at her. When she got closer, she cleared her throat, making him turn._

"_You've got a bit of a blush going on here," she said, wiping his cheek._

"_Yeah, don't remind me," he scoffed. He looked at her with the same look he gave her when they first met. "I want to kiss you so bad."_

"_That kinda ruins the whole 'You may kiss the bride' stunt that happens at the end of all this, doesn't it?" she asked him, giggling._

"_Jazmine, can you do one thing for me right now?" he questioned her. She nodded her head quickly. "I need you to wake up."_

_She blinked her eyes. "W-What?" she hurried said._

"_Wake up, Jazmine," he answered. "I'm going to need you to wake up Jazmine." She shook her head. This was one of her best dreams so far. She didn't want it to ever end. Huey wasn't hearing any of it. "Wake up, Jazmine."_

* * *

><p>"Wake up, Jazmine."<p>

Jazmine's eyes fluttered open. She angrily huffed out a breath. Her perfect dream was over. Who was bothering her this early anyways? She sat up in the bed next to Cindy, who was snoring louder than usual.

"Finally you're awake," he said, rolling his eyes. "Get up; I have to show you something."

She rubbed her still sleepy eyes. "Huey?" she loudly questioned the shadowy figure, but a 'shh!' in her direction. "What are doing here? What time is it?"

"That could be answered quickly if you would get out of the bed," he answered quietly. She groaned lightly as swung her legs off the side of the bed. "Good girl," he joked.

"'Good girl,'" she mimicked and rolled her eyes as she walked behind him. She smacked his arm. "I think it's too early for your sarcastic butt right now."

"It's never too early for sarcasm, Jazmine. You should know this by now," he retorted, letting down the attic stairs.

"Where are you taking me? Why are we going up here?" Jazmine questioned him. "I bet your gonna kidnap me and keep me in the attic, aren't you?" He sighed. "I knew it!" she giggled loudly.

"Jazmine!" he scolded. She let out an apology and followed him up the stairs. "I want to show you something up here," he repeated from the first time she woke up. "_That's_ what we're doing. Are you satisfied with that answer?"

"No, but it'll do for now," she answered. Huey lifted the attic door up and turned on the single light bulb, illuminating the entire room. "It's freezing in here." She grabbed a blanket in a box and wrapped herself in it. Huey picked up a box and sat it on the floor. He laid out a large comforter next to the container. "What's this?"

Huey opened the box and pulled out a book and handed it to Jazmine. "Look and see," he answered. She sat down and took it out of his hands. She looked at the title.

_Huey Freeman, aged 0-3 years._

"Is this your baby book?" she gasped. He nodded and sat beside her. She looked at the first picture on the first page. A fairly young woman was sitting in a hospital bed, holding a bundle in her hands. "Look at baby Huey!" She turned another page. "How come I've never seen any of these?"

"Because, it's been up here since we've lived here," he told her. She turned another page. It was a slew of a naked Huey getting bathed in the kitchen sink. Jazmine burst into a fit of laughter. "Okay, let's turn the page," he said quickly turning the page, his face reddening.

"No!" she laughed, switching the page back. "I wanna see them!" He once again turned the page and looked at her. She immediately knew what that look meant. "Fine, we'll keep going."

"Thank you," he said. They looked at another few pages of miscellaneous pictures until they got to a page starting with Huey sitting in front of big cake. "Oh, my first birthday," he said, shaking his head.

"What's wrong with your first birthday?" Jazmine wondered.

"You may not believe this, but I was a bad child growing up," he explained. "Like I would get my ass beat at least once a day."

Jazmine shrugged. "I can see that." She glanced at him frowning. "I mean… you? Bad? I would never, in a million years, have thought you were a bad kid," she faked.

"You're not convincing," he huffed.

The next picture was of him in front of the now lit candle, blowing as hard as he could. After that, his mouth and tiny fingers was covered with icing and chocolate cake.

"Huey!" she laughed. "What happened here?"

He sighed and leaned back onto another box. "My Granddad said that while my mom and dad were passing out the cake to everyone else, I was getting restless and I got my own cake. And apparently I punched one of my cousins who tried to clean me up. He was red for about a week."

"You were even a fighter at one," Jazmine said. "What have I gotten myself into?" She looked at the next page of pictures. "Oh. My. God," she stopped. She pulled out a picture from the clear film. "I'm keeping this picture."

Huey sat up and looked over her shoulder. The picture was, again, of Huey at the pool with an ice cream cone in his hands and a wide smile plastered on his face. His small afro was half covered by a baseball cap turned sideways.

"This maybe the cutest picture of you I've ever seen in my entire life," Jazmine cooed. Huey shrugged and lied back down. She looked down at him and poked his nose. "I take that back; you're just cute in general. Even if other people don't think so."

Huey smirked and pulled her down to face him. She swung her leg over his waist. He put his hands just below the end of her shorts, sending electric jolts up Jazmine's body. She emitted a small moan and sat up.

"Hmm… maybe I should be on top more often," she quietly said while playing with the bottom of his black shirt.

"Yeah?" Huey dumbly answered, his mind hazily trying to focus as he felt her fingers lightly brush against the waistband of his boxers when she fidgeted with his shirt.

"Then again," she said, leaning down to his ear. "I like much better when you _dominate_ me," she whispered softly to him as she kissed his earlobe.

"You're doing this on purpose," he growled lowly, unable to control himself. Her warm breath on his neck fueled him even more. He just wanted to take her, like they both wanted him to. "You're playing with me right now."

"I'm not doing anything," she innocently replied, biting her lip.

"Really?" he smirked. He sat up on his palms and stared at Jazmine, pulling her closer to his body. He licked his lips and started gently sucking on her jawline, eventually working his way down to her shoulder.

"_Huey_," she moaned, tilting her head back.

"I'm not… doing… anything…" he mimicked in between kisses. He pulled her shirt over her head. She returned the favor by taking his shirt off and throwing it somewhere over by the window.

Jazmine lifted his chin with her finger. Huey looked up and found his way back to her lips in a long embrace. He laid her down on the comforter and eyed her.

"Huey… make love to me… now," Jazmine seductively groaned. He stripped her of her skimpy shorts, leaving her only in her panties and long socks. Huey grabbed the blanket that was once wrapped around Jazmine's cold body and draped it over his back. He then undressed he rout of her lingerie.

She closed her lips tight to brace herself for Huey entering her, but even then, a light moan escaped from her pursed lip. Jazmine stroked Huey's hair as he gently rocked her body. She closed her eyes and moaned loudly. "Huey," she said again. "Deeper. I want you deeper."

He complied with her request and made Jazmine's knees buckled. He looked down at and gave her one lingering kiss. Jazmine bit down on her bottom lip and muffled her scream. She didn't want to wake up the whole house. Huey was next, pushing into her one last time before releasing himself into her.

"Slow and steady, huh?" Jazmine commented when Huey settled down next to her. He quickly glanced over at her. "No complaining from this end."

"I just wanna take it nice and slow," he smirked, making Jazmine giggle and push him in a playful manner.

"You're silly!" she laughed. She sat up and looked at in a faraway mirror in the corner. She patted her slightly tousled hair. "You know, I look really sexy with my hair like this. I could stare at me all day."

"I could too," Huey commented. Jazmine smiled at him. He rubbed his hand over her neck. "Yeah, I owe you some cover up."

She got dressed in her shirt and her panties and walked over to the mirror. "Huey!" she harshly whispered. "It looks like a freaking disease or something!" She glanced back at him, who shrugged his shoulders. "Ugh, you're lucky you're cute."

"Lucky me," he said sarcastically. He was already dressed and came up behind her. He turned off the light and let down the ladder. "Sleep tight… _wifey_," he smirked, giving her a nickname he hasn't used in a while.

"Goodnight _hubby_," she answered back, giggling due to her dream earlier. She climbed down and snuck into Cindy's room, lying back in the bed as if she never left. Cindy was still snoring.

She was right. She couldn't resist canoodling with her boyfriend.

* * *

><p>"Okay, she's coming down," Cindy said, running back into the living room. "Just do everything we planned, aiight?"<p>

"I don't wanna sound like a punk bitch or nothin, but I think this plan ain't gonna work," Riley answered, shaking his head.

Cindy glared at him. "Well, you do sound like a punk bitch, so do the damn lines." Jazmine walked down the corridor and entered the living room. "Oh Riley, I wish I knew what gender our baby is," she acted out.

"Yeah, I don't even know what kind of stuff to buy for him or her," he answered, not acting smoothly like Cindy wanted him to. She hit him in the thigh. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"I know right?" Cindy sighed dramatically. "If only I knew what he, she, it was…" Jazmine looked at her and rolled her eyes. She walked over to Huey. "Unfortunately, the only person who could solve this horrible is dilemma is Jazmine, and she's being stubborn!" She sighed again. "Oh, how I wish someone could—"

"You're having a girl. Please be quiet so I can read the newspaper in peace," Huey interrupted, sick of hearing their fake act.

Cindy looked at Riley, Riley looked at Cindy. Cindy walked over to him and smiled. "We're having a girl," she said quietly.

He smiled too and rubbed her belly. "Yep. We havin a girl," he repeated.

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **(I silently judged you if you did sneak a peek down here.)_

_**Okay my announcement!:** This is the final chapter before the epic finale! (collective gasp, and various cries.) Yes, unfortunately for all of us, Not Just Friends could not go one forever, as much as I want it to, and all good things have to come to an end. While I am currently think about breaking it up into a two-part ending, with my shoddy writing, my laziness, and my detest of school coming up, it'll probably end up being just one ending. I hope I haven't depressed you too much... but you never know... this potato may have something up her sleeve..._

_Until next time, chickadees!_


	18. Surprises, part One

_**A/N:** OHMYGOD I can't believe I'm publishing this! I know some of you are probably waiting for Chicago Hope, but my friend forced me to write this chapter really quick, because she's a huge fan of writing! I'm blushing! BTW, thanks a milli (do people even say that?) for the 100 reviews! I love you guys so much! Mwah!_

Chapter Eighteen: Surprises part One

Huey stretched up at the ceiling. He glanced over to his brother, who was still sprawled out in his bed. He smirked and threw one of his pillows at Riley. He almost immediately woke up.

"Aye!" Riley yelled at him, when he saw Huey trying not to laugh at him. "What was that fo?"

"I was trying to give you a nice wakeup call for your birthday," Huey answered, finally getting out of the bed. "The real question is: Do you want your birthday licks now or do you want them later?" Riley put his finger on his chin. "Choose wisely."

"Later," he answered quickly. "Definitely later." Huey shrugged and walked over to door. He turned back to Riley and bucked at him. Riley flinched back, almost falling out of his bed. "I ain't scared of you nigga!" Riley yelled back.

Huey shook his head and opened the door.

"HAPPY BIRTH— oh it's only you, Huey," Cindy said defeated. She huffed and walked inside the joint bedroom. "Happy birthday, Reezy," she said to Riley, less enthusiastic than the first time. She handed him a present.

He was about to rip it open, but he stopped himself. "Nah, imma wait for this one. This is gonna be special. I wanna find the right time for this one."

"Aww!" she squealed, enveloping him in a hug, but being careful of her round stomach in front of her. Huey came back into the room and went towards his closet, picking out clothes for the day. "Huey, what did you get yo brother fo his birthday?"

"Isn't the fact that I haven't killed him yet enough of a birthday present for him?" he replied with a slight smirk. "Because I didn't really get him anything else." Huey turned and went back into the bathroom.

Is it just me or does Huey actually seem… _happier_ today?" Cindy asked as soon as the elder Freeman left the room.

"Maybe because it's a nigga's birthday," Riley offered, grabbing his phone to see the hundreds of 'Happy Birthday' texts he got at and around midnight. Cindy gave him a 'she was not impressed' look. "Okay, maybe it has something to do Jazzy. Just maybe, tho."

"Maybe he could tell it's gonna be good day today."

* * *

><p>She flipped her phone in her hands, hovering her trembling fingers over his name. She bit the nail on her thumb. She looked over to her dresser where Huey's baby picture was taped to the mirror next to Jazmine's.<p>

Jazmine paced around her bedroom and stared at her computer. She didn't want to believe it. It couldn't be true. She let out a deep breath and sat down on her bed. She read the symptoms over and over again.

Breast tenderness? Check.

Fatigue? Check.

Nausea? Check.

Missed period? Double check.

Oh _fuck_.

Her hands shook at she lied back on her pillows. Her breath was quick and light. No, this can't be happening to her. This _couldn't _happen to her. She took all the necessary precautions. They were safe… _always_; she even tracked whenever she was the most fertile and didn't have sex on those days, just in case the condom breaks. She was the fucking safest of the safe.

So why were all the symptoms there?

She ran over to her calendar pinned on the wall. The last time she had sex was four weeks ago, on a Friday. She choked when she saw the result. She wasn't supposed to have that weekend. It started on Saturday.

She put her hand over her mouth and screamed. She closed her eyes tight. This was only a dream. She couldn't be pregnant. This was a horrible nightmare and she was going to wake up right now and get ready for Riley's birthday party. She could feel her tears stinging her eyes. She opened her eyes and pulled her hand down. She took a shaky breath.

There was a knock on the door and Jazmine quickly jumped in her bed and closed her laptop. "C-come in," she said quietly. Her father opened the door and checked on her. "Hi Daddy," she fake smiled.

"Hi Honey," he answered, walking towards the bed. "Are you okay? You don't look too up to yourself," he noticed. He placed his hand on her forehead, feeling for a temperature. "You're kind of hot."

"It's because I'm under all these covers. It's pretty warm in here," she told him. She sat up and smiled again. "I'm fine. Honest."

"Alright, well, I'm going to leave for the partner's brunch downtown," he said, straightening up. "I should be back in a couple of hours." He hugged her and smiled. "You're such a good daughter."

"No, I'm not," she answered honestly, looking away from him.

"No you are!" he explained. "I know it's been a couple of rough months since your mother left, and I know we've haven't been on the same page a few of those times, but I just want you to know that… I love you. And I appreciate you." He got up and walked out of the room. "Bye, honey. I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Bye," she let out, waving at him. When she heard the front slam shut, she started tearing up again. Just when she thought she couldn't feel worse, her dad went and said some sentimental things that couldn't come at worse timing. She got out of the bed and dressed in sweatpants and her favorite hoodie. She was sick of questioning it. She needed to be sure.

She hopped into her car and drove to the nearest pharmacy. She tapped her fingernails on the steering wheel. She stood still as she stared at the front of the store. She gulped and exited her car, locking the door. She walked around the building for a while before going to the Family Planning aisle, an aisle she's been more than she needed to.

"Do you need help ma'am?" the store clerk asked Jazmine. She jumped, not hearing the person come up behind her. She turned around. It was the last person she wanted to see right now. Hiro. "Jazmine?" he asked her. "What are you doing—?"

"Hiro, I will physically hurt you if you do _not_ leave me alone right now," Jazmine said coldly.

Hiro opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed his mouth. "Right," he said, turning around to the next aisle.

Jazmine shook her head and looked back at the closed off tests. She looked over her left shoulder and then her right. She pulled out a bobby bin from her hair and went to the lock. Hiro's hand stopped her. "Hiro…"

"I'm only doing this because I could possibly be fired since I witnessed you doing this," he explained to her. He unlocked the glass case and handed over the test to her. Jazmine grabbed the test out of his hands and followed him to the register. She looked down at the test and back at Hiro. "Jazmine…"

She wrapped him in a hug and started to cry on his shoulder. "I'm so scared!" she said, muffled in his blue Polo shirt. "I don't know what to do!"

"Have you told Huey yet?"

She sniffed and shook her head. "I can't… He's gonna be so let down."

Hiro sighed and scanned the test. He pulled out a twenty dollar bill out of his pocket. "Consider this a gift. Go tell Huey and sort this out. And think negative thoughts!"

Jazmine smirked and nodded. "Thanks, Hiro," she said quietly. She walked out of the pharmacy and pulled out her phone.

* * *

><p>"You seriously think that Sonic is better than Pokémon?" Huey asked her seriously. She sat down on the couch next to Riley and nodded. "Nope. Not possible."<p>

"What do you mean it ain't possible?" she asked him, smiling. "Sonic had levels that you can actually try to play. Pokémon is a quest, and you had to go looking for the stupid animals. It was worse when you couldn't catch them."

"You can easily beat Sonic. It'll actually take you a while to finish Pokémon!" Huey challenged. "Maybe you just weren't good at the game."

"Huey was the best Pokémon player of Chicago when we was growin up," Riley explained. "He could beat every nigga at our school in the card game. He's such a fucking nerd."

"You're just mad because I would get win all the cards that you would get," Huey retorted back. "You would always try to bet your cards and you would always lose. Always."

"Whateva, nigga," Riley retorted back.

Huey's phone vibrated in his pocket and he pulled it out. It was a text from Jazmine, inviting him over. "Hey guys, I'll be right back, okay? I'm going to Jazmine's house for a little while."

"Ooh!" Cindy laughed. "Someone got a midday booty call!"

"Go get it in, big brother!" Riley added.

He rolled his eyes and left the house to walk across the street. He knocked on the door and waited for Jazmine to come answer it. He tapped his foot as he waited a little longer than he expected. He was about to knock again, but the door opened.

"Hey," Jazmine said timidly when she finally came to the door to greet her boyfriend. She gave him a quick hug before leading him upstairs.

"Sweatpants and a hoodie," Huey remarked when he noticed what she was wearing while he walked up to her bedroom. "Granted, it's not your usual extravagant self, but you still look beautiful either way."

Sorry, I have been a little tired and under the weather lately," she told him. "Actually, that's kind of why I called you over here."

"What?" he asked. "You want me to help you feel better?" he smirked. He came up behind her and started to gently massage her shoulders. "I'm not as good as you, though."

She let out a sigh and tilted her head back. His hands felt really good on her aching muscles. She immediately came back to reality and pulled away from him. She sighed deeply. "Huey, I'm… I'm late," she blurted out.

He gave her a look. "What do you mean 'late,' Jazmine?" he inquired seriously. "Late for what? The only late that I could possibly think of is if you're late for your…" he trailed off. His head snapped up and looked over to Jazmine. "Please tell me you're not talking about that kind of late."

"Four days," she trembled slightly.

"Oh fuck," he gulped. Huey probably would have passed out on the floor if he didn't feel his way over towards Jazmine's bed. "Oh my God. How did this happen?" He put his face in his hands. She could hear him repeat "fuck" over and over.

"Do I need to really remind you about how babies are made?"

He looked up. "Jazmine, this isn't a good time to want to start saying snide little remarks," he answered, slightly annoyed. "This is serious!"

Jazmine huffed. "You think I know how serious this is? You think that I thought it was _funny _that I didn't notice the signs until today? Yes, I thought it was _so _hilarious that I stayed up all night in my bathroom near my toilet. And I found it downright priceless when I realize I could change my life forever! Yes Huey, I find this all a fucking riot!"

He sighed. "Alright, let's think about this. When was the last time we had sex?" he asked her. He snapped his fingers. "Four weeks ago, in the attic. Friday." He shook his head. "I could've sworn I put on a condom before though."

"Well, apparently you didn't, because if you did, we wouldn't be in the situation that we're in right now, now would we?" she bluntly said, looking out the window.

"I'm sorry, are you seriously blaming me?" Huey asked. "Because I could've sworn there were two people involved in this. Especially someone who was saying things like 'I like when you dominate me' or 'Fuck me now' or some shit like that. I think your more at fault than I am!"

Jazmine scoffed. "You know, you always think that you have this God complex over the rest of us mere mortals. You think you're better than us, but you really not. You're no better than me, Riley, Cindy, or anyone for that matter!"

"Oh and you're any better?" Huey asked her. "You've always wanted the perfect life. You want the perfect picket fence with the perfect husband and have the perfect children who are just too fucking perfect. You even lie to Tom to keep up with appearances." He stopped himself and looked at Jazmine, who was staring angrily at him.

"Oh, please finish. I _want_ to hear the rest."

"I'm not going to," he said, rubbing his head. "This is a pointless argument."

Jazmine sat down on the floor in front of him. "No. I want to hear everything you have to say about me, Freeman. I seriously want to know what you think."

"Do you want to know what I think?" Huey replied, pushing his final button. Jazmine smirked and nodded. "I think that you're a naïve, spoiled, insecure, ignorant little brat that needs to grow the fuck up."

"Are you done?" she said.

"And I think you should probably go and tell Rashad that you're late. I bet he'll find it surprising too."

She clenched her teeth together. "Really?"

"You were so buddy-buddy with him. I just think he should know."

Jazmine stood up. "Stop," she told him.

"I mean, he really liked you."

"_Stop_ it, Huey," she repeated.

"Who knows? You've probably been giving him the same treatment you give me."

He didn't even notice it. He was so engaged into belittling Jazmine and making her feel worse that when her hand came across his face, it took him by shock.

"I can't believe that you would even say anything like that!" Jazmine screamed at him. "You just say things to piss people you do to even notice how it affects other people! You know I would never _ever_ do that, you little prick!"

Huey touched his cheek. "Damn," he winced, feeling his warm, stinging skin in his hand.

"You fucking deserved it!" she shouted. Huey was met with Jazmine's tearing eyes. She quickly turned away from him. "I think you should leave now," she shakily uttered. He stood up and walked to the bedroom, still holding the side of his face.

"Whatever," he replied, leaving the room and exiting the house. He walked over to his own house, opening the door quietly so he wouldn't have to explain to the others why he was home earlier than expected.

He went up to his own room and sat on his bed. He replayed the events over and over in his head, trying to figure where things went wrong. He didn't want to yell at her; she pushed him over the edge. And soon, he didn't even care what he was saying. He just wanted to keep picking at her, just like he did six years ago.

It wasn't like he believed that she cheated on him, he just knew it would piss her off, the way she pissed him off. But he went too far, he always went too far. At first, he would smirk when she ran away crying, a feeling of smugness came over him whenever he told her the blunt honesty that she needed to hear.

But now? Now it just felt… _horrible_. He wanted to make up, tell her he was sorry and that he fucked up. She could be pregnant, for God's sake! His whole life was across the street and he was forced to sit over at his own house just because he couldn't hold his tongue.

There was a knock on the door and Granddad opened up. "I'm about to go pick up Riley's cake. Do you need anything while I'm out?"

_A time machine. _Huey shook his head. "Nah."

Granddad was about to close the door, when he came back into view. "You sure?" he asked, entering the room. Huey nodded his head. "You okay boy?"

_No. _He sat up and turned to his grandfather. "I'm totally fine. I just wanted a little quiet time to myself. You know, away from the commotion of downstairs." He pulled a book from his bookshelf. "See? I was about to start reading."

"Is Jazmine coming over?"

_Not for a while, if ever._ Huey inwardly groaned and shrugged. "I hadn't even asked her yet."

"You should. You're a nicer person when that little cutie pie is around here," he noted. Huey cleared his throat and opened his book. He glanced at his cheek. "What happened to yo face?"

He covered it with his hand. "Nothing," he responded.

Granddad shrugged and closed the door. Huey adjusted himself and started reading the fake book he pulled out. He got through a few paragraphs when the door swung open. Riley and Cindy were standing at the frame.

"What are you doing here?" Cindy asked him.

"Okay, well… I live here and I'm legally allowed to be in here whenever I want to," he said, turning a page. "This is also my room, so there's another explanation."

"That's not what I meant," Cindy sighed. "I mean why are you _here_—?"

Riley walked over to him. "Damn nigga! What the hell happened to yo face?" he inquired. He went to touch his cheek, but Huey pushed him away. "You must've pissed her off bad."

"What did you do?" Cindy eyed him conspicuously.

"Why do you assume that I did something?" he snapped back. Granted, he was the one that caused his own assault, but he didn't like that she automatically blamed him for the whole argument when she didn't know anything about it.

"I know Jazmine," she said. "She wouldn't hit anyone unless she was provoked. Plus, she wouldn't hit he snapped back. Granted, he was the one that caused his own assault, but he didn't like that she automatically blamed him for the whole argument when she didn't know anything about it.

"I know Jazmine," she explained. "She wouldn't hit anyone unless she was provoked. Plus, she wouldn't hit _you_ of all people." She put her hand on her hip. "What did you do to her?" she repeated. She moved closer. "Huey _Fucking _Freeman, if you so even _thought_ about putting your fucking hands on Jazmine, I swear on everything that is holy, I will _fuck _you up!"

Huey put his hands up. "First of all, I would _never _put my hands on her. Ever. I have more sense than that. We just had a disagreement, it escalated and she slapped _me_ and told me to leave. Then I left."

"And you didn't fight for her?" she yelled.

"Excuse me?"

She went over to him and slapped his arm. "You're supposed to fight for Jazmine! You just let her go, just like that?" She huffed. "I'm ashamed of you, Huey. She's the love of your sad and dull life! She's the peanut butter to your jelly, the Kool-Aid to your sugar!"

"You're laying it on pretty thick, Cindy," Riley noticed.

"I don't care! I need them together! I need them together forever!" she yelled as she left the room. "If they're not together, I'll die!"

Huey looked at Riley. "That's all yours," he replied, going back to his book.

* * *

><p>This was it. She had already put it off for half an hour. She placed the used pregnancy test on the counter and put the other unused one in her sweatpants pocket. She was going to have to throw it out in the outside garbage can so her dad wouldn't accidentally come across it.<p>

Jazmine wiped her eyes and grabbed her phone. She set the timer for five minutes, like the instructions said to. She exited the bathroom and sat down on her bed. She couldn't help but stare at the phone as the time dwindled down.

_4:59, 4:58, 4:57…_

She wished that time could move faster, that she could just skip to the end of the clock and find out her future. Instead, the numbers seemed to slow down even more.

_4:44, 4:43, 4:42…_

She shook her head. She needed to take her mind off of it, to distract herself from the stressful situation. She first took off her hoodie and walked back into her bathroom and splashed her red face with water. She was careful not to look at the stick on the counter, in case it gave a false positive. She picked up her phone again.

_4:20, 4:19, 4:18…_

She loudly groaned. She started to pace around her room again when her stomach growled. She remembered that she hadn't eaten anything all day. At least it would it would take up a couple of minutes of her time.

She walked down the stairs and went to the kitchen. She opened up the refrigerator and got out a bowl of red grapes. She decided she probably couldn't hold down anything heavy, and plus, she was really craving grapes. She rolled one in her fingers before popping it in her mouth. The next one she threw it up in the air and tried to catch it in her mouth, but it fell on the floor. She went to pick it up and the doorbell rang.

"Coming!" she shouted, setting the bowl on the counter. She ran through her living room and unlocked her door. When she saw who it was, she rapidly tried to close the door back. "Go away!" she yelled at him.

He stopped the door with his hand. "Jazmine, I need to talk to you."

"If you're trying to apologize, then I don't accept it," she announced, folding her hands across her chest. "I don't care what your stupid excuse is."

He shook his head. "I didn't come back to say sorry to you."

"Then _go away_, you jerky-jerk face!" she said, pushing her back to the door, trying to close it shut.

"This is about Cindy!" he blurted out. She stopped pushing and slid down, but jumped back up. "I think she's in labor and she told me to come and get you."

* * *

><p>"Fuck! Fuck! Motherfucking fuck! Shit!" she screamed, gripping the armrest as she pushed through the pain. As soon as the pain stopped, she let out a breath. "That was fucking painful," she said. "Where the fuck is Jazmine?"<p>

"Right here!" she told her, running into the room. "Are you okay?"

She sucked her teeth. "Yes, Jazmine, I'm peachy keen," she answered sarcastically. "No, how did fuck do you think I feel?" she yelled.

"How far along are her contractions?" she asked Riley. He stood there and stared off into space. "Riley?" she asked again.

"Hold on," Huey said calmly, walking in towards his brother. He looked him in the eye and flicked him square in the forehead. "Hey! Now's not a good time space the fuck out!"

"Right," he said, shaking his head.

"How far along are her contractions?" Jazmine repeated.

"Uhh…"

"Oh great!" she yelled. "Riley you're supposed to track these things! Cindy, do you know?"

"I think like eight or nine minutes apart," she replied.

"Alright, has your water broken yet?" she then asked next. Cindy shook her head no. "Okay, then we'll just have to wait until your water breaks before we can leave. Because for all we know, they could be false."

"If these are fake, then I don't wanna see the real ones!" Cindy pouted.

"Let's prepare to leave though, just in case," Jazmine informed them. She turned to Cindy. "Where's your hospital bag?" Cindy sucked in air. "Come on Cindy! You haven't packed it yet? Did you _not _prepare for this at all?"

"I was gonna do it tomorrow! I'm sorry; I didn't know I was gonna in labor six weeks early!" Cindy said.

Jazmine sighed. "I'll go get one for you." She went down the hallway and ran up the stairs. Huey soon went after her. He knocked and walked into Cindy's room. "I don't need your help, you know," she retorted when she saw him out the corner of her eye.

"How do you know so much about labor and stuff? How did she know to get you?" he questioned his girlfriend.

"Well, when I hit puberty, my dad gave this big book about what happens to your body and stuff about pregnancy and those kinds of things. The only person I told was Cindy," she explained to him, throwing clothes in a large duffel bag. "Plus, I'm pretty sure you and Riley combined don't know anything about what happening now."

He smirked. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I've read anything about labor, sorry." She smiled at him and kept on packing. He heard a ringing go off and started to look around. "Do you hear that?"

Jazmine looked around too, but soon realized it was the vibrating in her pocket that was making the noise. "Oh! It was my phone," she said, shutting off the alarm. She went to pack again, but she remembered what the alarm was for. She turned to Huey. "Do you think I could go to my house really quick?"

"Maybe," he answered, shrugging. "It depends on how Cindy is. I kind of don't want to be left alone with her and not know what to do."

She glanced down at her clock. She put the bag on her shoulder. "We still have about at least five minutes until her next contraction, so I should be able to—"

"Jazmine!" Cindy screamed. "I think it's time to go the hospital now! It's serious!"

Huey and Jazmine exchanged a look before both going downstairs. They saw Cindy standing in a puddle by her feet. "I'm going to get my car," Jazmine announced, leaving out of the front door.

"Wait, why we can't get a damn ambulance to come and get her?" Riley wondered.

"It's not an emergency. If the baby's health isn't in imminent danger, they can charge you coming out here. We have to take her ourselves. You should probably call Granddad and Mr. McPherson and tell them about the change of plans."

"What should I do?" Cindy shakily asked.

Huey looked at her. "Try not to hyperventilate and try not to have your baby in Jazmine's car," he told her. Jazmine came back in the house, ready to go. Everyone rushed to the car. "Let me drive," he more stated than asked her.

"I'm not letting you drive my car!" she yelled, already walking to the driver's seat.

"You don't drive that fast and at the rate you go at, she'll probably have the baby in the car. Do you really that to happen?" he asked this time. She huffed and walked to the passenger seat. "Thank you," he said.

"Yeah, try not to kill us all on your way to the hospital, please," she retorted.

* * *

><p><em>TO BE CONTINUED...<em>


	19. Surprises, part Two

**_A/N: _**_AAHH! This is the end of my story! I hope you enjoy it!_

Chapter Nineteen: Surprises, part Two

Jazmine sat in the chair across from Huey, giving him a mean death glare as he only looked back at her, his face unchanging.

"Take a picture; it'll last longer," he finally said, tired of her daggers coming his way.

"Take a picture; it'll last longer," she mocked while rolling her eyes. She turned away from him and stared at the front entrance of the hospital.

"This is stupid."

She scoffed and turned towards him again. "Seriously? None of this would've happened if you were being careful in _my _car!" she yelled. Huey rolled his eyes because she was yelling again. "So if you want to call anything stupid, it should be directed to you."

Huey shook his head. He had to admit, this argument/childish cold shoulder _could _have been avoided. On their way to the hospital, a frantic driving Huey ran five traffic lights, almost got in two accidents that would've been his fault, and hit a squirrel. All in Jazmine's vehicle. Needless to say, she wasn't the happiest camper. When she told him about how she felt, he responded with a…

"I don't really care."

The next thing that happened was another fight, mostly coming from Jazmine's side, and soon, Cindy yelled at them that they either break-up or they go outside and don't come back in until they resolved their differences. And since neither of them really wanted to be with anyone else, they both left into the lobby.

"Jazmine…" Huey started.

"What?" she snapped at him.

"I don't want to fight anymore," he responded truthfully. He winced at his voice. To him, he sounded pretty weak, but he didn't care; he just wanted Jazmine back and everything to be back to normal.

She smirked at him, and looked up. "You sounded like a girl," she replied. Huey glared at her and she shrugged. "I just thought you would like to know."

Huey sighed and looked back at Jazmine. "Look, I just… I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything. I was being stupid and I said some things that were… dumb."

"I don't accept your apology."

Huey blinked. "What?"

"I don't accept your apology," she repeated, folding her arms across her chest. "Not until I also get an apology for almost crashing my car. And for getting me tickets. And for hitting that—"

Huey put up his hands. "Okay, okay, I get it; I have a lot of things to be sorry for."

Jazmine giggled and slowly made her way over to Huey. She plopped down on his lap. "You're still a butthead sometimes," she informed him, flicking his nose. "But you're my butthead."

Huey smirked and flicked her nose. They both looked forward to the door and they saw a girl, who looked to be no older than them, being wheeled out holding a small bundle in her hands. They looked at each other, then down to Jazmine's stomach, then back at each other. "I think that we should—"

"I have a test in my pocket; we have to find a bathroom."

They both sat up quickly and ran to the nearest unisex bathroom.

* * *

><p>"Motherfuckin fuck!" Cindy yelled in out loud in the tiny room. She clutched onto Riley's hand, who was trying his hardest not to scream due to the fact that all circulation to his hands was being cut off by his abnormally strong girlfriend. "I fuckin hate yo ass for doing this to me, you fuckin dick!"<p>

"Damn, girl! You is really hurtin my hand right now!" Riley yelled through gritted teeth. As soon as her contraction passed and she let go of his hand, he brought it close to his body and started to rub feeling back into his purple hand. "Goddamn…"

"Where's the fuckin button for the fuckin nurse?" she muttered under her breath, searching in the small hospital bed for the remote. She looked up. "And where is Huey and Jazmine? And my father? And Mr. Freeman?" She turned to Riley, who stared at her back. "Where the fuck is everybody?"

Riley shrugged. "Yo daddy's on his way; he had to get some things first. Granddad stopped by the house 'cause he had the groceries, and Huey and Jazmine ain't came back yet." Cindy growled lowly and yelled.

The nurse knocked on the door and checked on Cindy. "How are you feeling, Ms. McPherson?" she asked sweetly.

"Fuckin horrible," she replied in a heavy voice. "When can I get the fuckin drugs?"

"E-Excuse me?" the startled nurse asked, making sure she heard the young girl correctly. "I'm not sure what you're trying to—"

"The drugs," Cindy repeated, rolling her eyes. "The drugs they ask for in the movies and TV shows."

"Do you mean an epidural?" the nurse finally understood. Cindy rapidly nodded. The nurse walked to the door and grabbed the chart. She studied it carefully. "Well, according to the chart, your contractions aren't short enough to give you an epidural…"

Cindy scooted closer to the nurse. "Look, lady... I'm in the hospital a month early, and I'm already pissed the fuck off. Just give me the fucking epi-whatever-the-fuck-it's-called and we can all be happy. Got it?"

The nurse, obviously intimidated by Cindy, nodded and went to go get the anesthetic.

* * *

><p>Huey watched as Jazmine sat on the counter in the bathroom as she switched between chewing on her right index finger and thumb nervously. As their eyes met each other's, Jazmine awkwardly scooted closer to the mirror. "What?" she asked him.<p>

"Nothing," he replied, shrugging. He leaned on the wall. "You just… looked really scared. That's all."

She jumped down from the counter. "I'm about three minutes away from possibly ruining the rest of my life, possibly being stared at by hundreds of kids every day, and possibly giving my father three major heart attacks. Are you telling me you aren't afraid of all that?"

"Yes."

"Then why aren't you freaking out?" She panicked. She started to pace around. "Do you realize that two kids could be born within 9 months of each other at your house? Your grandfather is going to freak out."

Huey grabbed her hands and forced her to stop and look at him. "Jazmine, sweetie," he said slowly. He didn't see Jazmine smirked at his pet name. "Calm down, alright? Everything will be fine. I promise."

She took in a deep breath and closed her eyes. "You're right, Huey. Just do one thing for me?" He nodded. "Call me sweetie again," she said, trying not to giggle. He turned away from her. "Please? Just one more time!" she begged through laughs.

"Whatever," she heard him softly said. "We need a plan," he said louder than before.

"Okay, if I'm not pregnant, then we have to take extra careful precautions to make sure this does _not_ happen again," she said. She thought for a moment. "Maybe we should just stop having sex all together," she shrugged.

"Do you really think that you can do that?" he asked her unconvincingly. "I mean, you can barely keep your hands off of me as is."

She rolled her eyes. "Ignoring that stupid little comment, I think that we can stop, just as long as you stop looking sexy all the time." Huey raised his eyebrow. "See! Stop doing that! You look so adorable!"

"Sorry," he said, immediately stopping whatever "adorable" face Jazmine said he was making. He looked at the white sitting face down on the counter and then at his phone. Two minutes left. "And if you are… y'know… pregnant?"

"Then you can push me down the stairs."

Huey's eyes widened. "Don't you think that's a little drastic?" he questioned her.

"No," she replied. She went back to the counter to sit down. "Either that or we move to Mexico and get hitched to avoid my father trying to strangle you. I like option two, to be honest."

"Whatever you want, _Mrs. Freeman_," he told her teasingly.

"You're laughing now, but if that test is positive, Mexico doesn't seem so far-fetched."

"Jazmine, we're not moving to Mexico," he said seriously. "Even if you are pregnant."

She opened her mouth, but quickly closed it when the timer went off. She got off the counter again and stood next to Huey. She grabbed his hand. "Okay, close your eyes," she instructed him.

"Why?"

She shot him a look. "Just do it, Huey." He sighed heavily and complied with her wish as she did the same thing. She picked up the pregnancy stick and turned it right side up. "On the count of three, open your eyes."

"That's what this is for?" he asked her. "Why can't we do this like normal people and just look at the—"

"_One_," Jazmine yelled over his voice, shutting him up. "Two…" she continued. She took a deep breath and said, "Three." They both opened their eyes to see the result.

**Not. Pregnant.**

Jazmine squealed when the results showed up as Huey let out a huge sigh of relief. It felt as if a giant weight was lifted off his shoulders. Let's be honest, even if he is mature for his age, he wasn't ready to take care of a kid of his own.

"Well, that's a comforting relief," he said.

Jazmine smiled. "For a second there… I thought that maybe…" she trailed off. She looked up at Huey and sighed. "We're not pregnant!"

He kissed her forehead. "We're not pregnant," he repeated.

She threw away the stick and headed towards the door. "We can't tell anyone about this, alright? I don't want this to get back my father. He still thinks I'm innocent."

* * *

><p>"Jazmine?" Tom yelled as he walked through the door. He looked around, but saw no signs of life throughout the house. When he pulled into his house, he didn't see Jazmine's car, but he just assumed that she would her car in the garage since rain was scheduled for today. "Jazmine," he repeated, closing the door behind him.<p>

"Huh," he said confusedly. He sat the bouquet of purple tulips he got for his daughter on the kitchen counter. He glanced at the clock and frowned. He was only gone for about three hours, and he kind of had something planned for them to do.

And then he realized that she was in the bed when he left. She probably was still there, sleeping. He smirked at his cleverness and walked up the stairs.

"Jazmine honey? Are you still up here?" he yelled out when he reached the second floor. "I have a surprise for you!" He knocked on the door, but he only opened it further. There was no sign of his daughter.

He quickly searched the room, but Jazmine was gone. He saw there was scattered clothes on floor, which told him she went somewhere and couldn't decide on what to wear.

"You could at least have called me," he muttered to himself, although it wouldn't matter since no one but him was in the home. He sighed and picked up the clothes that were on the floor. He went to the bathroom and threw the clothes into her dirty clothes hamper.

He almost left the room and went to go call Jazmine, but something on the counter caught the corner of his eye. He turned around. What was that? His eyes widened when he saw the box.

It was a pregnancy test.

Next to the box was the actual stick, sitting face down. He grabbed his chest and he started to feel woozy. His daughter needed a pregnancy test and he couldn't deal with it. His shaky hand went for her stick, trying to see what the outcome was. His short breath started to even out when it was negative.

Then his anxiety was replaced with anger.

First he was angry at Jazmine, for even getting herself in that situation. Then it was himself and Robert, because he didn't pay close attention to what the kids were doing. But most of all, he was angry, no, _pissed off_ with Huey Freeman. It was probably his fault for all of this. Maybe he even _pressured_ his sweet Jazmine to have sex with him. He growled angrily. He was going to give that little dickhead a piece of his mind.

Tom ran out of Jazmine's room, down the stairs and out the door. He ran across the street and rapidly knocked on the door. When there wasn't an answer in three seconds, he knocked again.

"Tom!" Robert screamed at him from the driveway. "What the hell are you doing knocking on my damn door like that? What do you want?"

"Where is Huey and Jazmine?"

"They went to the hospital with Cindy. She's going into labor," he answered. He hopped into the car. "Do you want to go together?" He shook his head no. "Alright, well I'll see you down there."

After he saw Robert drive away, he went back to his own house. He threw away the flowers that he got for her and grabbed his keys and phone. He slammed the door behind him, getting ready to brew his anger in his car for thirty-five minutes.

* * *

><p>Jazmine stuck her head out of the bathroom and looked around for any adults. "It's clear," she told the boy behind her. She walked out and Huey followed her. They went towards Cindy's hospital room when Jazmine stopped them. "Huey?"<p>

"Yes?" he replied.

"I'm sorry. Y'know, for slapping you," she said. He rolled his eyes. "No, I'm serious! That wasn't a very nice way to express my anger." She looked at him with her sparkling jade eyes. "Do you forgive me?"

"No," he quickly answered. "Not until you say sorry for everything else you ever did your entire life that was wrong."

Jazmine was clueless for a moment, until she realized that he was mocking her for the same comment she made earlier. "Oh, ha ha Huey!" she sarcastically laughed. "You are so funny!"

He shrugged. "I try my best."

"I try my best," she mimicked him in a higher voice, going inside her friend's room.

"Where were you guys?" Cindy asked in abnormally high voice. Jazmine blinked at her. "Did you guys… have sex?" she questioned, and then broke into a fit of giggles. She stopped suddenly. "You guys would have, like, _beautiful_ babies. By the way, how's the weather today?" Mr. McPherson and Granddad just shook their heads.

Jazmine turned to Riley and pointed at Cindy. "The nurse gave her that epidural shit and she been actin high since then," he answered.

"You know what's pretty?" Cindy started. She blinked her glossy eyes, contemplating her answer. "Potatoes."

Huey sighed and shook his head as he sat down in the chair next to the bed. Jazmine skipped over towards him and poked his nose. "I'm cold. Do you wanna go get my sweater from my car?"

"No, not really."

She huffed. "Let me rephrase that question. Can you _please_ get my jacket since you have my keys and I cannot get into my car without them?" she asked again. She flashed him a look she knew he couldn't resist.

"Fine," he said, getting up again. She smiled and followed Huey out of the room. "I'm only doing this because I have your keys. Otherwise, I wouldn't be going with you."

Jazmine stopped and gave him the same look again. "Huey, baby, can you please get me the Crown Jewels in England?" she asked nicely.

"Well… I can try."

She smirked and kept walking. "Oh my God, Huey, you are a sucker for me. Seriously? Steal the Crown Jewels from England?"

"Anything for you," he said sarcastically, playing off his slight trance from Jazmine.

"Joke all you want, you were pretty legit when you said you can try," she smiled. She walked out the automatic doors and to where Huey parked her car. "You know, this is the only time that everything works out in the end. I mean, I'm not pregnant, Cindy's labor is so far healthy, we're happy together… this was a good ending to our day," she said.

He nodded, unlocking the doors. "Maybe because everything is supposed to end up fine… for once," he replied. She grabbed the jacket in the back seat and climbed out. She shrugged and smiled, walking into his arms. He looked up and saw a car pull up next to them. "Is that your dad?" he asked.

She turned around and glanced at the car. "Oh my God, it is. What is he doing here?" She watched as he stepped out of the car. She got out of Huey's hands and walked towards him.

"You got a lot of fucking nerve," Tom scolded her.

She stepped back. "W-What are you talking about?"

He scoffed. "You know, you prance around like you're the most innocent girl in the fucking world, when in reality, you're just another one of these fast-ass girls out there!"

Jazmine's eyes filled with tears as she scooted back next to Huey. "What's your problem? Why would you say something like that?"

"Yeah, what's your problem, Tom?" Huey added, holding on to his crying girlfriend.

Tom turned to Huey. "My problem is actually _you_, Huey Freeman. You have corrupted my sweet daughter ever since she was ten. And now you've turned her into a… hoochie mama!" he yelled. He looked back at Jazmine. "Jazmine, get in the car."

"But, Daddy I—"

"Jazmine Bethany Dubois, you get in that fucking car this instant, or so help me God…" he retorted back. "I will drag you into the damn car if I have to!"

She looked up at Huey. "You don't have to go if you want to go, then you don't have to," he informed her.

"Huey…" she started. She sadly blinked her jade eyes and gave him a kiss. "I love you, alright?" She took Huey's hands off of her and walked towards her father. He angrily glared at her as she got in the back of the car, soon following her by getting in the front.

As Tom drove away, Huey realized he was still holding her keys in his hands. He squeezed them hard and walked back into the hospital, trying not to punch a wall. He followed the signs back to the maternity ward when Granddad ran up to him.

"Huey! Where's the little cutie pie?" he asked.

He turned away from Granddad's gaze. "She went with her dad…" he said, looking into the room, which was mysteriously empty. "Where's Cindy?"

Granddad sighed. "There was complications with the epidural. She had to go into emergency C-section," he explained to his older grandson. "Riley went in with her."

Huey muttered something under his breath as he realized that everything was falling apart in a matter of minutes.

* * *

><p>Jazmine looked out the window as her father continued to yell at her. She tuned him out about ten minutes ago; around the time her father mentioned choosing military school or boarding school. She didn't really care what he was saying, because she knew he was going to back out of his words sooner or later. She was more worried about what was happening at the hospital. She hadn't gotten an update since she left, and he father always told her no news was bad news.<p>

"Are you even listening to me?" her father barked at her, sending her straight out of her worrisome thoughts.

"Yes, Daddy," she replied back solemnly.

"I'm very disappointed in you," he added.

"Yes, Daddy," she repeated, as if she hadn't heard him say that a million and one times before in the past ten minutes alone. Granted, she realized that she did she was in the wrong... but still. Her dad was probably overreacting, like he usually did.

"Do you realize how catastrophic this could have been?"

Now she _knew _he was overreacting.

"I know you think I'm doing this to be a jerk, but I'm focused on you, Jazmine. I just want you to be safe… and I want you to focus on your education and not on… boys," he continued, turning on to Timid Deer Lane.

She blinked her eyes. Tom was actually serious about sending her away. It wasn't a flimsy non-effective, tactic that he wasn't going to carry out. She assumed that he was just waiting for her to mess up so he could just get her into boarding school.

"So that's it? You just can't deal with me, so you want to put me in a school off in Who-The-Heck-Cares, USA?" Jazmine retorted back.

"It's for your education!" he snapped, shutting off the engine and opening the door, signaling he was going inside the house. "I'm you father and I know what's best for you, even though you may not agree with my decision."

"You didn't even discuss it with me! I think that you can't handle me anymore and I'm starting to grow up so you think it's better to let some other people handle me than you! You're basically saying 'I give up on being a father!'"

Tom simply shook his head. "I understand you're angry…"

Jazmine scoffed. "Understatement of the year."

"But…" he continued, disregarding her little comment. "In the long run, I think you'll thank me for this experience."

Jazmine rolled her eyes and walked up to her room, not wanting to hear anymore bullshit that was coming out of her father's mouth.

* * *

><p>Riley looked down at the little girl he was holding in his arms. She had a little rough time coming into the world, and she was in fact a couple weeks early, but the main thing was that she was here. His child.<p>

Brielle Teagan Freeman.

She was softly asleep in his arms, making little movements with her mouth. He thought it was the cutest thing ever. He just felt like bursting into tears of joy, but he was surrounded by people and real niggas didn't cry anyway.

But if he did… this would definitely be the time.

Brielle yawned and opened her eyes for the first time, showing off her light hazel eyes, courtesy of her grandmother and great-grandfather. Riley blinked and stared at her. He gave her a slight smile. He could've sworn she smiled back.

"Uhh... hi," he said to her. She merely blinked at him. "Brielle… I'm your daddy." He showed her to the sleeping girl in the bed. "And this is your mommy. She's very sleepy right now," he continued, moving on to the next person. "This is your great-granddad, but you really don't pay no attention to him."

"Whatever boy!" Granddad snapped at him. He looked at Brielle. "Coochie coochie coo!" he said in a baby voice.

"What are you doing?" Riley shook his head at his grandfather, who shot back a look. He went in front of Huey, who was glued to his phone. "And this is Uncle Huey… but he a hater, so you can forget 'bout him too." Huey rolled his eyes and kept looking down. "See Uncle Huey is a whipped bit—" he stopped his sentence. "He a whipped _dude_ and he basically waitin' on his girlfriend to talk to him," he corrected.

"Shut up, Riley." Huey turned to Granddad. "I'm going to go give Jazmine her car back, then head home."

Granddad nodded. "I'll be home after a while," he replied back.

As Huey left the room, Riley sat Brielle back in her crib, where she went immediately went to sleep. Riley smirked, knowing that she definitely got that trait from him. He sat down in the chair next to the crib and intensely watched his daughter.

"Do you need anything from downstairs?" Mr. McPherson asked him as he and Granddad stood up and headed to the door. He shook his head no, eyes not leaving Brielle. "We'll be right back then," he said before the elders left the room.

"Brielle," he started, putting his hand on the back of his neck. "I know I'm only fourteen…" He stopped himself. "Fifteen. Do you know you share your birthday with yo daddy? That's pretty legit right there." He chuckled to himself. "Brielle, I know I'm not older and wiser or as experienced with kids as like other daddies, but…" He sighed hard. "But… imma try my hardest to make this work. I don't care what those stupid statistics say. You ain't gonna grow and be no hooker or drug addict and drop outta school or what they be sayin in those studies. At least, not as long as I'm alive. You, Brielle, is gonna be something special… and you ain't gonna make the same mistakes I did. You not gonna grow up and wonder who yo daddy is, like I did. You ain't gonna struggle living those project apartments in a bad neighborhood in Chicago like I did. Nah, you gonna live in Woodcrest. This is place is the whitest suburbs in the whole country! I mean, the maids even got a maid!" Brielle gurgled in response. "What I'm saying is... you is the best thing to ever happen to me… and you the reason I want to be a better person. I want to be like really smart. I wouldn't even be mad if you grew to be as smart as Huey. Don't be a hater like him though. That ain't a good look."

"That was cutest thing, Reezy."

He turned around and saw Cindy was sitting up, looking over at him. He redden, thinking that she heard his little speech to his newborn daughter. "Uhh… how much did you hear?" he asked nonchalantly. "A rough estimate."

"Not much, just the whole thing," she said sarcastically. "I'm just saying… that was real emotional. It's a side of you I ain't never seen before."

He sighed. "I just want to be there for her," he answered, his voice cracking at the end.

"And you will! You is gonna a real good dad," she assured him.

"Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

><p>Huey put his hand on the back of his neck and scratched it awkwardly. He looked over at Jazmine, who was gazing at the stars in the sky. It was as if neither wanted to break the awkwardness of everything. Huey wanted to fix the problem, to make everything right, but in the end, it would be futile. He couldn't help her. She was already gone.<p>

"I don't want you to beat yourself up over this," Jazmine finally said. "My dad was probably already going to send me to that school."

Huey scoffed. "When are you leaving?"

"Next week, we're going up there to check it out. If he likes it…" she trailed off and looked at Huey. He nodded, silently telling her she could go on. "It could be as early as when summer starts. My dad wants to send me to their summer program."

"Oh."

She grabbed onto him and squeezed him hard. "Huey I don't wanna go! I don't wanna be with all those stuck-up, rich, white girls! I wanna be here with you and Brielle and Cindy and you and Riley and Mr. Freeman and you and…"

"Me?" he asked.

"Make my daddy not send me to that stupid private school!" Jazmine whined. "Please? Make him change his mind! Why can't I just grow up like a normal kid and go to a normal school?" Her eyes widened. "What's going to happen to us?"

What _was _going to happen to them? They wouldn't see each other often, and with the way Tom was acting, probably would forbid her from seeing Huey without him tagging along too. It would forever alter their relationship.

But… Huey didn't want breakup.

And… Jazmine didn't want to breakup.

Huey pulled Jazmine away from his chest and gave her a sincere look. Jazmine rubbed her watering eyes and looked back at Huey. Maroon eyes met jade, and they looked as if they were having their own telepathic conversation.

"Jazmine… I'm going to make this work in any way shape or form. If I have to drive up to wherever you're going… I will. I refuse to let you go."

She sniffed and smiled. "Promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **Alright, alright guys! I have to thank all you youse for reviewing me! I really appreciate all this lovey-loveyness coming from you guys! **You **(yes you...) are the reason __I kept updating this story and **you **are the reason I'll keep writing stories!_

_First, I have a few people to thank:_

_AwesomeBlackStar16, BlackSoul09, BoondocksHueysGirl, Bubblez234, DaBlackVegeta, DaeImagines, Dave the Wordsmith, DolphinGirl977, ILoveYou1234567890123, Jazavelli, Jazzy411TotalDramaWorldNews, Keshawna18. Lavender Angel-96, MicaiahYoochunnie, Mr. Nine, , MsSunshine90, NewYorkShawtii, Nickville17, Paige1292, Pikacuteness1, Randamwriter, Savant Syndicate, Schweetpea1870, ShellieB, Shini Namikaze, SpoonyGoony34, Tensa Zangetsu, ToxicMKT, Twilight-boo, XxlKairalxX, YOLO7, Zangetsu12, Zolow95, andemoon, aonymousXXX, artist1897, bunnybabe247, cdog1917, deon377, deonteizbeast, gameplayatim, havensworth, iLoveBoondocks, inuyashalover1216, kairigurl08, keyks554, lottaluv66, maiyaboondockslover, 15, nebysapphire, nothing234, nune101, omglolily, packplay13, pinkmmlover, thevirginalvixen, twincity812, yellowalein23, CheshireWild, Destiny-of-your-darkness, LovinHueyFreeman, Menny Man, Midnight Mask, MindlessBoo, MusicckLover16, MzMinni3, New york Mike, StarKiss666, VongolaDecima027, XXiDoNTgIve2sHiTsXX, bigtoasty, blackdisk, child who is cool, csonia88, dance-love-happiness, decipher, firekingofice, kibeth13, lemonluver12, obsessedanimefangirl, sam4life, AND wow-derful._

_You guys are the people who either favorited or alerted my story (a lot of you did both!) so there's my thanks and to all the anons I got. thank you so much too! Even though, I don't really know you, I still appreciated your feedback! Until next time!_

_**P.S.** I'm doing this on my birthday... so happy birthday to me!_

_**P.P.S **There **MAY **or may not be a sequel to this story... just saying...  
><em>


	20. Pursuit of Happiness: Prologue

_**_**So guys. This is my chapter... er, prologue for Pursuit of Happiness, and I'm basically reposting this for all the peopl that follow Not Just Friends, but don't follow me. In other words, there's finally a sequel! You're welcome! Thanks you guys for sticking with me all this time! Mwah! :3 (That's a kiss, if you don't know...) And yes, I'm stealing Schweetpea1870's idea by putting a chapter on the original story. Don't judge. **_**_

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: **Oh my God. Oh my freaking God. She just made her sequel to Not Just Friends. Is this the real life, or is this just fantasy? Yes, that's a Queen reference. Don't judge. Yes people, when I say I'll give you a sequel, by George, I'm gonna give it to you! Yes, it may be a little late, but it's still fan-fucking-tastic. I should be sleep right now, but because I love all of you oh so much, I'm presenting this to you. Don't forget to Read&Review!_

Prologue

Jazmine tapped her fingers on her knees as she sat in the seat in the auditorium. She tried to listen to the principal talk, but pretty soon she zoned her out after the old lady started talking about how wonderful Jazmine's class was. She honestly was tired of it all: the graduation, the ceremony, and the fact that the lady was making a sappy inspirational speech about how life was going to be different and perfect after high school.

Thirty minutes into the ceremony, Jazmine was bored out of her mind. Everyone around her was grasping onto every word the principal spoke. These girls were the future of America, the cream of the crop. So why did they think that the principal was saying something in her probably recycled speech they won't hear ten times in the next day alone? She sighed. They're probably delusional. Next onstage was the valedictorian, who pretty much made the same speech over again. She was just glad she didn't have to make the stupid speech, because she would just tell the audience that she hated pretty much everybody that was graduating today and everyone could go fuck themselves.

She groaned for what seemed like the thousandth time and threw her head back. She was just waiting on the ceremony to be over. All of her things from her dorm were packed into the boxes, waiting for her dad to take her and leave the hell she was forced to be in for two years. Well, she was being _slightly _overdramatic, but she couldn't wait to leave. Unfortunately, she had to bear with these girls for a couple of more hours.

The girl next to her, whose name Jazmine couldn't think of at the moment, turned around and waved at someone in the audience. She sank lower into her seat. No one was here for her, except her father. Sarah, because Jazmine refused to call her mom anymore, was God knows where, and the only person she really wanted to be here was still in Woodcrest, because he had his own graduation to attend.

She blew a curl out of her view as she stared forward. She folded her arms across her chest and huffed once again. The unnamed girl tapped her on the shoulder and pointed the across the walkway to where Tom was sitting. He was signaling something that Jazmine couldn't understand, so she rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Aren't you excited?" the unnamed girl asked Jazmine. "I mean, this is the start of our new lives. We're not high schoolers anymore. We're finally _adults_. People are going to treat us differently."

Jazmine scoffed. "People aren't going to treat you differently just because you're finally out of high school. Anybody can graduate from high school. The people that work at McDonald's have a high school degree."

"Well… yeah…" the girl started, unsure of what to say next. "But… we're gonna be in college. I mean, it's so much different than high school. It's going to be _so_ much better."

She didn't feel like bursting the girl's bubble anymore; she was just making it too easy. Jazmine grunted in response and turned back forward. Her bitter attitude while others were cheerful were starting to clash. Huey was rubbing off on her more than she thought. She was better off being quiet and not ruining anybody's day.

The audience clapped when the valedictorian was finally finished and the principal took her place and started calling out names. Jazmine's row stood up first and walked toward the stage. Her senior class wasn't big at all; with about forty students getting their diplomas today and Jazmine was number eight. At least she didn't have to wait long. Huey had about 250 people in his graduating class.

"Dammit," she said as she almost tripped over her blue gown, which was longer than she expected, even though she was wearing heels. She had to grip onto the railing of the stairs to regain her balance again. She hoped and prayed that she didn't bust her ass when she went to get her diploma.

"Jazmine Dubois."

Just like she practiced at the rehearsal a couple of days ago, she got on the small stair steps and walked across the stage. Halfway there, she absentmindedly looked out into the audience. Her dad was smiling widely and what she assumed was him recording a video of her walk, so he could watch it over and over again. She rolled her eyes and smiled to herself. She'll at least get to show Huey her walk.

She smiled at her principal as she received her diploma just so her dad could have at least one nice picture of her onstage. Her hand gripped tightly on the certificate and she looked down at her watch. Only thirty more minutes to go and she was out of there. She wondered if Huey was having more fun at his own graduation. She laughed to herself. Probably not.

Huey groaned and threw his head back as he sat in the seat in the auditorium. He tried to listen to the principal talk, but pretty soon he zoned him out after he started talking about how wonderful this class was. He honestly was tired of it all: the graduation, the ceremony, and the fact that this guy was making a sappy inspirational speech about how life was going to be different and perfect after high school.

Thirty minutes into the ceremony, he was bored out of his mind. Everyone around him was on their phones or sleeping, not even paying attention to the principal anymore. This was the future of America. Next was the valedictorian, who pretty much made the same speech over again. He was just glad he didn't have to make the stupid speech, because he would just tell the audience about 50% of the kids would drop out of college before getting a degree and 90% of them would never amount to anything.

Caesar turned around in his seat and looked at Huey. "Hey Huey, do you believe the bullshit she's saying?" He asked him. Huey rolled his eyes and shook his head. Caesar shrugged. "At least she's given them hope, though."

"Hope is irrational," Huey replied bluntly. He never was the hopeful one; faith, hopes and wishes were just things people made up to distract him from the reality. He was the realistic person, always looking at statistics and logic, along with common sense. Jazmine was the hopeful one.

Caesar smirked. "Always a positive one, huh?" He jokingly said.

"As usual."

Caesar tapped on his phone. "You still having that graduation party? That's a shocker coming from you, Freeman."

Huey scowled. "Unfortunately, I am. Aunt Cookie is under the assumption that I actually have friends at this school," he explained. He watched as Caesar smirked while he played with his phone, earning an eyebrow raise. "You better not invite anybody."

"I'm not," Caesar answered unconvincingly.

"I'm serious. I don't want random niggas in my house."

Caesar put his phone in his pocket. "Huey. I'm not inviting random niggas." Huey already knew that Caesar had found a loophole when he said that. Great. He expected to see at least twenty people at his house.

The audience clapped when she was finally finished and the principal took her place and started calling out names. Caesar's row stood up first and walked toward the stage. Caesar smirked at Huey as he made his way to the back of the line. He watched one by one as his classmates got their diplomas. When Caesar's name was called, he gave the principal a big cheesy grin and dap as he walked off the stage.

He looked over at the audience, trying to find out where his family was sitting. Right in the middle, he could see Riley and Cindy, along with Brielle, sitting on the end of the row. He couldn't see anyone else, but he was pretty sure Granddad and Aunt Cookie were right next to them. Although he didn't really care about the actual ceremony, he was pretty glad his aunt came all the way from Chicago to see him walk.

"Dammit," he said as he almost tripped over his red gown, which was longer than he expected. He didn't even want to wear the stupid thing, but the principal said that if he didn't wear it, he couldn't walk and if he didn't walk Granddad was most likely going to beat his ass because he had to pay for Aunt Cookie's plane ticket, and that ass-whooping wasn't worth skipping his graduation.

There were only a couple more people in front of him, and he could tell that his family was getting antsy. They were building up, getting ready for Huey to take the final walk, the first of his Freeman generation to graduate from high school. He rolled his eyes; they were more excited about him graduating than he was.

Clarissa Faulkner was the person in front of him. When her name was called, she turned around and blew a kiss in Huey's direction. He rolled his eyes. She had been trying to talk to Huey since forever, and when Jazmine left, Clarissa tried to step her game up, almost kissing him at one point. The crazy bitch couldn't take a hint until he had to push her off of him. Even then, it only made her like him even more. At least he wouldn't have to see her crazy ass anymore after this.

"Huey Freeman."

Just like he practiced at the rehearsal a few days ago, he got on the stair steps and made his way across the stage. Halfway there, he glanced back over at his family. They were cheering louder than anyone did for anybody else. He could see his grandfather and aunt standing up next to Caesar's mom and sister, cheering and whistling.

He shook the hand of the principal and stood at the podium for the all the pictures people could be taking. The principal shook his head once more before Huey walked off and back to his seat. He read his diploma.

_This certifies that __**Huey Freeman**__ has completed all necessary blah, blah, blah._

He looked at his watch. Figuring that since he was in the front of the line, and they were only on letter H now, he had about two more hours before he could finally go home. He groaned and tilted his head back, closing his eyes. It was going to be a long day.

Jazmine tapped her foot on the tile of the lobby. She was already out of her graduation gown and was currently waiting on her father. She questioned if she could even see her father, considering the sea of people that was in front of her. For only a few people to be graduating, there sure were a lot of family members and such crammed into a small place. She blew a curl out of hair. Damn, where was her father?

"You changed out of your robe?" her father asked, when he finally spotted Jazmine by the door. "I wanted to take a couple of pictures of you up close…" she hated when her dad sounded dejected, especially if it was her fault.

"Daddy, you can take as many pictures as you want of me in my gown when we get home," Jazmine reassured him. "Right now, I just want to go home to my own room."

Tom sighed. "Listen, Jazmine. I know you're still holding some resentment from having to go to this boarding school, but… it's been two years. Aren't you just a little bit happy that you got to experience this? I mean, most girls don't have the privilege of going to this nice school."

To say she hated it here was an understatement. Loathed was a better word for it. She loathed every atom, every tiny minuscule fleck of dust on the campus. There was no point in the two years of her admission did she enjoy it here, except the times she went back home.

"This was a life-changing moment and I'm glad that I got to go to this school," she lied. Her dad seemed satisfied with her answer and enveloped her in a hug. "Are you going to bring the car near the dorms? Because I need to put the boxes in the back." Her dad didn't need to get distracted. They were on a mission.

Tom nodded and walked off. Jazmine headed back to the upperclassmen dorms and walked to room 113 for the last time. She unlocked the door and stepped into the room. Her boxes were stacked on her bed, along with her duffel bag.

She walked over to the mirror and looked at herself one last time in the smudged reflection. She played with her hair for the umpteenth time when she noticed something in the corner. She grabbed the picture and couldn't believe she almost left it. She smiled at Huey's baby picture. She remembered that she taped it up there when she first arrived in the dorm.

"And to think I almost forgot you," she said. She put the picture in her dress pocket and patted it. She swung the duffel bag over her shoulders and grabbed her boxes. She was walking out of the door when her roommate stopped her.

"Jazmine?" she questioned with huge puppy eyes. "Are you about to leave?"

Jazmine gulped hard. Elizabeth was her sophomore roommate since last year, due to a technicality. She practically taught her everything she knew. Elizabeth was the ten year old version of Jazmine, only Elizabeth was sixteen. She was too naïve for her age, _way_ too emotional, and was basically shut off from the world, like Jazmine. Jazmine was Elizabeth's big sister, and now she had to leave her little sister.

"Yeah, Lizzie. I gotta go back home," she explained to her, as if she was a five year old. She straightened Elizabeth's tie on her neck. She made sure she didn't show too much excitement in her voice, just not to offend Elizabeth. "You can still text or Skype me if you need help, alright?"

Elizabeth started to tear up. "I don't know how I'm gonna survive without you, Jazmine!" she bawled. "It's gonna be so hard!"

Jazmine sighed. Was she this annoying when she was younger? How did she still have friends? "Elizabeth, you knew that one day, I won't be able to be here physically with you. But if you remember everything I taught you, I'll always be with you, right there." She pointed at her heart.

_Wow, could that have been anymore cheesy? I sound like I'm about to die or something._

Nevertheless, Elizabeth ate it up, like the girly girl she was, and gave Jazmine a hug before she went to her dad's car. Elizabeth sniffed a few times, before solemnly waving goodbye and walking back to the dorms. The girl was dramatic, that's for sure. Jazmine shrugged and put the boxes in the back seat of the car.

She turned around and looked at her former school. She felt as if she should probably say something meaningful about how she truly felt about her two years here. She sighed.

"Fuck that," she muttered to herself as she walked to the passenger side of the car. Tom started up the car, and pulled out of the parking lot. Although she wasn't fully paying attention to her dad, he continued on about he went to a private school, and how much his education was significantly different than his public school friends.

Actually, Jazmine didn't learn anything educationally she didn't already know from public school. She only learned about sluts, fake girls, and cheating rings. She could've been higher in the class rankings if she wasn't so angry at being in a boarding school her first semester. It didn't matter in the end; she was going to be reunited with Huey and that's all that mattered.

And they were _definitely _going to reunite all night tonight.

She blushed at the thought of him and hoped that Tom didn't see her red tint. She usually didn't try to think about Huey like that, but _had _been two years. She missed seeing him every day, she missed that he would sometimes give her the smallest smile whenever she snuggle next to him, she missed the secret kisses he would give her, but most of all…

She just missed him.

They had been through a lot together. He was there through all of her bad times. He was there through all of the good times. He was always there, just like she would always be there for him, even if he claimed that he didn't need it. Even if he was being stubborn, she would be right behind him.

She yawned loudly. She only had about seven hours of sleep, and although that was enough for some people, Jazmine was used to about nine to ten hours of rest to properly function without snapping at people. She put in her earphones and quickly went to sleep, with dreams of her man playing through her head.

"Uncle Hooey!"

Brielle slapped his chest as hard as her little hand could. Huey opened his eyes and looked down at his niece. She smiled and waved at him. He smirked at the sight of her tiny smile. "What do you want, Brielle?" he asked, pushing the curls out of her face.

"Downstairs," she requested, pointing towards the balcony. He sighed and stretched up, letting his joints loosen up again. He picked Brielle up and balanced her on his hip. "Thank you!" she answered, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, yeah," he responded, trying to balance Brielle in one hand and a baby gate in the other. When he reached the first floor, he sat Brielle down, who immediately ran off to find Riley or Cindy. He fixed the gate at the bottom of the stairs when he heard his name.

"Huey! There you are, sweetheart," Aunt Cookie said, emerging from the hallway. "Are you really wearing that for the party?" He looked down at his outfit. Before he could counteract, Aunt Cookie waved the question away. "Never mind, just… go and have fun at your party."

He turned to see people grouping in the living room. He was about to go back up the stairs, but was stopped by Aunt Cookie when she grabbed his arm. She gave him "the look" that he knew he had to stay.

And then in the course of twenty minutes, he already saw at least fifteen people he'd never seen before. Whoever told Aunt Cookie these people were his friends, they were sadly mistaken. Some of the people were in Riley's grade, some of them were definitely freshman, and the few he did know, he probably never gave them the time of day. And more people were coming through the door.

"Fucking Caesar."

Caesar had better hope that Huey didn't find him in this large crowd, because he definitely had a few choice words to say to his so-called "best friend" And what's even worse, is that he couldn't find his family anywhere. It seemed like Granddad, Riley and Cindy, and even Aunt Cookie, who he saw just mere minutes ago, were missing.

"Huey!" Caesar said, laughing. He wanted to lunge at him, but there were too many witnesses. "Look, I know yo ass don't like parties, but I only invited a couple people. Then somebody put it on Twitter…"

Huey rolled his eyes. "You idiot. Didn't I say I didn't want anybody at my house?"

"You said you didn't want random niggas!"

Huey sighed. "Sometimes I question our friendship," he admitted, shaking his head.

Caesar smirked and grabbed Huey, embracing him. "Nigga, you know you love me!" Caesar joked. He turned him around and showed him the entire living room, packed with people. "Enjoy this, Freeman. You a college boy now. This is gonna be normal."

"Yay," he answered sarcastically. He shoved Caesar off of him and checked his pockets for his phone. "I'll be right back."

"Whatever!"

Huey tried to make his way through the hallway, successfully forcing a walkable path. When he finally got to the front, thinking about locking the door so more people won't come in. He also noticed that not only did the baby gate keep out Brielle; it also kept out dumbass teenagers. Who knew? He was about to make his way to his room when he heard the doorbell ring. He raised an eyebrow. Usually people just entered. Apparently the person got the message, because the door opened. His eyes widened when he saw the person.

_Jazmine_.


End file.
